Not upheld: unfair car valuation in insurance claim settlement complaint against Aviva Insurance Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr S complained about Aviva's valuation of his car following a total loss claim, arguing it should be valued at £12,750 rather than Aviva's final offer of £5,895. Mr S also claimed costs for sourcing a replacement car, car hire, premium refund, and additional compensation. The ombudsman found that Aviva's valuation was fair and reasonable, falling within an acceptable margin of valuation guide values, and that the comparators Mr S provided were not sufficiently similar. The ombudsman rejected all additional claims as either not covered by the policy or already fairly addressed through the £175 compensation already offered.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied the FOS approach to valuation cases, checking whether the insurer's valuation was fair and reasonable in line with policy terms. The ombudsman found that Aviva's valuation of £5,895 fell within an acceptable margin of the highest valuation guide value (£6,057) and was therefore fair. The ombudsman rejected reliance on advertised sale prices of cars with different registration years as insufficiently comparable, and found that valuation guides properly account for mileage as a valuation factor. The ombudsman also rejected claims for replacement car sourcing costs, car hire costs, and premium refunds as not covered by the policy terms.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website