Not upheld: poor service in claims handling; failure to assign correct engineers; multiple cancelled and rescheduled appointments; insufficient time allocation for repair complaint against Aviva Insurance Limited
Financial Ombudsman decision DRN-6352635 of 2026-05-31T00:00:00+00:00. poor service in claims handling; failure to assign correct engineers; multiple cancelled and rescheduled appointments; insufficient time allocation for repair complaint against Aviva Insurance Limited. Outcome: Not upheld.
Decision detail
| Reference | DRN-6352635 |
|---|---|
| Decision date | 2026-05-31T00:00:00+00:00 |
| Firm | Aviva Insurance Limited |
| Product | home emergency insurance |
| Claim type | poor service in claims handling; failure to assign correct engineers; multiple cancelled and rescheduled appointments; insufficient time allocation for repair |
| Outcome | Not upheld |
| Remedy | Aviva should pay £300 compensation to Miss E and Mr G (already offered) and reimburse the cost of repairs (£816 inclusive of VAT, already reimbursed by Aviva). |
Summary
Miss E and Mr G claimed under their home emergency insurance policy for a leaking soil vent pipe on 2 July 2025. After an engineer diagnosed the fault on 4 July 2025 as requiring both a plumber and drainage engineer, Aviva made multiple errors including assigning incorrect engineers, cancelling two appointments, providing incorrect appointment dates, and allocating insufficient time for the repair. These failures led Miss E and Mr G to withdraw their claim and hire an independent tradesperson at a cost of £816. Aviva upheld their complaint and offered £300 compensation plus reimbursement of repair costs. The ombudsman found that while Aviva's service was poor, its compensation offer was fair and reasonable and did not require an increase.
The Ombudsman's reasoning
The ombudsman acknowledged that Aviva made multiple service errors including incorrect engineer assignments, cancelled appointments, and insufficient time allocation, which unnecessarily protracted the claim and caused inconvenience. However, the ombudsman determined that Aviva's acknowledgment of these errors and offer of £300 compensation plus full reimbursement of repair costs was fair and reasonable. The ombudsman noted that while Mr G reported health impacts and work performance issues, there was insufficient evidence of a causal connection or quantifiable losses. The £300 award was found to be consistent with FOS guidelines for comparable circumstances involving frustration and inconvenience.
How this compares
| Group | Decisions | Uphold rate |
|---|---|---|
| Aviva Insurance Limited, all decisions | 5,098 | 27% |
Source
Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website