Not upheld: claims handling - failure to provide courtesy car and reimbursement of alternative transport costs complaint against Admiral Insurance (Gibraltar) Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Miss G complained that Admiral mishandled a motor insurance claim by failing to provide a courtesy car while her 2018 car was being repaired following damage on 12 May 2025. She sought reimbursement of £120.00 spent on temporarily insuring herself to drive her mother's 2023 car from 18 May 2025 to early June 2025. The ombudsman found that Admiral's policy did not require a courtesy car before repairs were authorised on 20 May 2025, and that Miss G did not request one after that date when it became available. The complaint was not upheld, and no remedy was ordered.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that Admiral's policy did not require provision of a courtesy car before repairs were authorised on 20 May 2025. Although a courtesy car could have been provided free of charge after 20 May 2025, Miss G and her father did not request one after that date. The ombudsman accepted that practical constraints (time to collect the 2023 car) made a courtesy car impractical from their perspective. Therefore, Admiral was not responsible for the costs incurred in temporarily insuring Miss G on her mother's vehicle.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website