Not upheld: Motor insurance, claim handling complaint against Admiral Insurance (Gibraltar) Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr and Mrs A complained that Admiral responded unfairly to a motor insurance claim following an accident on 16 October 2025 where Mrs A, driving on a provisional licence without L plates or required supervision, collided with two parked vehicles. Admiral declined the claim for Mr A's vehicle based on the breach of provisional licence conditions and settled the third parties' claims for approximately £9,500 combined, reserving the right to seek recovery from the policyholders. The ombudsman found that Mrs A was indeed driving in breach of her provisional licence conditions, Admiral was contractually entitled to settle the third parties' claims, and the decision to do so was fair and reasonable given the circumstances. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that Mrs A was driving in breach of her provisional licence conditions (no L plates, no required supervision), which fell within the policy's general exceptions. Admiral was entitled under General Condition 2 to conduct the investigation, defence and settlement of claims on behalf of the policyholder. Given the circumstances of an unsupervised provisional licence holder colliding with two parked vehicles, Admiral's decision to treat Mrs A as at fault and settle the third parties' claims on a without prejudice basis was fair and reasonable. Admiral's right to seek recovery under General Condition 6 was also justified as the payments were made on behalf of the policyholder.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website