Upheld: Service failures generally complaint against Intact Insurance UK Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr F, who has a visual impairment, held a contents insurance policy with Intact and requested all correspondence be provided in large print. In January 2026, Intact sent a letter about insurance cover changes that was not in large print. When Mr F complained, Intact acknowledged the error but then provided a leaflet to the FOS that was also not in large print, forcing Mr F to spend additional time clarifying matters. The ombudsman upheld the complaint, finding Intact's repeated failure to follow the reasonable adjustment request caused avoidable distress and inconvenience, and awarded £100 compensation while clarifying that the FOS does not make legal findings on Equality Act breaches.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman upheld the complaint because Intact failed to follow Mr F's reasonable adjustment request for large print correspondence on two occasions. The firm acknowledged the initial error but then repeated it when responding to the complaint. This caused Mr F avoidable frustration and inconvenience as he had to spend additional time clarifying matters with Intact. While Mr F referenced Vento guidelines used in discrimination claims, the ombudsman clarified that the FOS does not make legal findings about breaches of the Equality Act 2010, but instead awards compensation based on what is fair and reasonable in the circumstances.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website