Not upheld: Home insurance claim disputes complaint against Admiral Insurance (Gibraltar) Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr R complained that Admiral discriminated against him and mishandled his insurance claim following a three-vehicle accident. He disputed Admiral's initial recording of the claim as a fault claim, claiming the third party was at fault and citing police findings. He also complained about courtesy car provision delays, wrong recovery truck type, and unreturned calls, and claimed loss of earnings from five days of missed self-employed work. Admiral apologised for minor errors and offered £50 compensation plus travel cost refund. The ombudsman did not uphold the complaint, finding the liability decision was communicated as provisional, Admiral acted within its policy rights, no discrimination occurred, and the compensation offered was fair for the administrative issues identified.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied ICOBS 8.1 standards for fair claims handling. The liability decision was communicated as provisional and still under investigation, not final. Admiral was entitled under the policy terms to conduct investigation and settlement on Mr R's behalf. No evidence of discrimination based on sex or vehicle type was found, as no comparative data showed different treatment of similar customers. The policy did not cover loss of earnings or loss of value. Minor administrative errors were acknowledged and fairly compensated at £50. The courtesy car and recovery issues did not constitute unreasonable delays given the five-day timeframe.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website