Not upheld: Motor insurance, claim handling complaint against NATIONAL FARMERS UNION MUTUAL INSURANCE SOCIETY LIMITED (trading as NFU Mutual)

Decision detail

Summary

Ms A complained that NFU Mutual incorrectly changed her name on her motor insurance policy renewal documents to include her late husband's surname, despite her notifying them of his death and requesting his removal from the policy in March 2025. NFU acknowledged the error was a system malfunction, apologised, corrected the documents, and offered £150 compensation. Ms A rejected this offer, requesting NFU pay her annual premium (over £2,000) instead. The ombudsman found that NFU had taken appropriate steps to rectify the error promptly and that the £150 compensation was reasonable, declining to uphold the complaint or award additional compensation.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that while NFU made an unfortunate error that caused Ms A significant distress at a difficult time, the evidence clearly showed this was a system error rather than staff incompetence. The policy had been correctly updated in March 2025 when Ms A notified NFU of her husband's death, and the error only appeared when automated renewal documents were generated. NFU responded promptly by apologising, correcting the documents, and offering £150 compensation. The ombudsman considered this to be the appropriate level of response and compensation for a system error that was quickly rectified. The ombudsman noted that while sympathetic to Ms A's distress, the FOS cannot impose punitive awards or fines, and must be fair to both parties. The £150 compensation offered was in line with what the ombudsman would have awarded.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website