Not upheld: Service failures generally complaint against Royal London Mutual Insurance Society, Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr P complained that Royal London increased his whole of life critical illness insurance policy premiums from £20 to £88 without notification or permission. The policy was reviewable and failed reviews in 2020 and 2025, triggering the increases. Royal London partially upheld the complaint, offering £200 compensation, but the ombudsman did not uphold it. While the ombudsman found Royal London breached FCA regulations by failing to provide adequate information about the policy's performance, charges, and options when costs exceeded premiums in 2014, this breach had no impact on Mr P because Royal London lacked a valid address for him from July 2015 onwards and therefore could not have delivered the required communications. Consequently, no remedy was ordered.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that Royal London was within its rights to review the policy and increase premiums as the policy terms were reviewable with no limits on the level of changes. However, Royal London failed to provide Mr P with sufficient information about the policy (including charges, future premium requirements, and reduction in sum assured options) as required by FCA regulations, particularly after June 2014 when policy costs exceeded premiums. Despite this regulatory failing, the ombudsman concluded it had no impact on Mr P because Royal London did not hold a valid address for him from July 2015 onwards, meaning he would not have received any communications regardless. Therefore, the policy would have ended up in its current position anyway, and no remedy was warranted.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website