Not upheld: claim handling, liability decision reversal, communication failures, excess management complaint against AXA Insurance UK Plc

Decision detail

Summary

Mr M complained that AXA treated him unfairly after reversing its initial liability decision on his motor insurance claim from not at fault to at fault, following a personal injury claim by the third party. AXA had initially told Mr M he was not at fault based on dashcam footage and would not pay an excess, but reversed this decision about a week later after its personal injury team reviewed the same footage. AXA acknowledged it made mistakes in communication, managing expectations about the excess, and made unnecessary comments, awarding £150 compensation. The ombudsman found that while AXA's handling had communication failures, the liability decision was not unreasonable based on the footage and was consistent with the third party insurer's assessment, and therefore did not uphold the complaint.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman's role is to determine whether AXA handled the claim fairly and reasonably, not to make a determination on fault. While AXA made mistakes in communication, managing expectations about the excess, and made inappropriate comments, the liability decision itself was not unreasonable based on the dashcam footage reviewed. The ombudsman was satisfied that AXA's conclusion on liability was based on a proper review of evidence and was consistent with the third party insurer's assessment. Although AXA reversed its initial position, this reflected a correction of an initial mistake rather than an unreasonable decision. The £150 compensation was deemed fair given the matters were corrected within about a week and the liability conclusion, while initially mishandled, was ultimately not unreasonable.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website