Upheld: poor claim handling, unreasonable delay, inadequate investigation complaint against Nelson Insurance Company Limited
Financial Ombudsman decision DRN-6367806 of 2026-05-20T00:00:00+00:00. poor claim handling, unreasonable delay, inadequate investigation complaint against Nelson Insurance Company Limited. Outcome: Upheld.
Decision detail
| Reference | DRN-6367806 |
|---|---|
| Decision date | 2026-05-20T00:00:00+00:00 |
| Firm | Nelson Insurance Company Limited |
| Product | insurance |
| Claim type | poor claim handling, unreasonable delay, inadequate investigation |
| Outcome | Upheld |
| Remedy | Pay £500 compensation for distress and inconvenience. Complete investigations into the claim and assess all evidence including the police report and Mr G's engineer's report, then make a decision on the claim and communicate it to Mr G within one month of accepting the final decision. |
Summary
Mr G claimed his taxi was stolen in October 2024 and reported it to Nelson Insurance. Nelson's investigation was hampered by multiple failures: the engineer was given a non-working key despite a working one being available, preventing proper vehicle inspection; damage to the vehicle was not properly documented; and the police report was not requested until December 2024 and was never chased despite eight months passing. By June 2025 when Nelson issued its final response, it had not completed its investigation and could not make a decision on the claim. The ombudsman upheld the complaint, finding Nelson's handling was poor and caused Mr G significant distress and inconvenience, particularly as he was unable to use his vehicle for his taxi business. Nelson was ordered to pay £500 compensation and complete its investigation within one month.
The Ombudsman's reasoning
The ombudsman identified five significant problems with Nelson's claim handling: (1) failure to provide the engineer with a working key despite having one available, preventing proper inspection; (2) engineer's failure to comment on scratches and paintwork damage, leading Nelson to underestimate damage; (3) key expert's failure to read the keys and provide data on last usage; (4) second engineer's failure to carry out diagnostic tests; (5) unreasonable delay in requesting the police report (should have been October 2024, not December 2024) and failure to chase it between January-June 2025. These failures prevented Nelson from properly investigating and deciding the claim by June 2025, causing Mr G considerable distress and inconvenience, particularly as he was unable to use his taxi and had to borrow a car to work.
How this compares
| Group | Decisions | Uphold rate |
|---|---|---|
| Nelson Insurance Company Limited, all decisions | 1 | 100% |
Source
Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website