Upheld: poor claim handling, delayed payments, inadequate repairs complaint against Advantage Insurance Company Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr O claimed on his commercial van insurance policy with Advantage following a road traffic accident. Although the claim was accepted and the van repaired, the repairs were unsatisfactory and rectification work caused issues with the advertising wrap, leading Advantage to write off the vehicle. Mr O raised multiple complaints about the claim handling and was dissatisfied with Advantage's £500 compensation offer. The ombudsman upheld the complaint, finding the claim could have been handled better, and directed Advantage to pay engineer report costs, van wrapping costs, review loss of income claims, and pay the £500 compensation, while rejecting claims for storage costs in the replacement van.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied FCA rules requiring insurers to deal with claims promptly and fairly. While Advantage had discretion under policy terms to attempt repair rather than immediate write-off, the poor quality of repairs and subsequent issues constituted substandard claim handling. The ombudsman found Advantage's offer of £500 compensation fair given the distress and inconvenience caused, but upheld the complaint to require payment of agreed costs (engineer reports and wrapping) and review of loss of income claims. The ombudsman rejected claims for storage costs as Mr O had chosen a different van specification and would have needed to replace storage regardless.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website