Partially upheld: Service failures generally complaint against AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL GROUP UK LIMITED trading as AIG UK
Financial Ombudsman decision DRN-6443969 of 2026-06-22T00:00:00+00:00. Service failures generally complaint against AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL GROUP UK LIMITED trading as AIG UK. Outcome: Partially upheld.
Decision detail
| Reference | DRN-6443969 |
|---|---|
| Decision date | 2026-06-22T00:00:00+00:00 |
| Firm | AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL GROUP UK LIMITED trading as AIG UK |
| Product | Travel insurance |
| Claim type | Service failures generally |
| Outcome | Partially upheld |
| Remedy | Pay a singular, total compensatory amount of £100 to Mr O, Mr O and Mrs S to recognise the repeated mis-advice and the confusion this created. |
Summary
Mr O held a travel insurance policy with AIG covering 25 June to 22 July 2025. While abroad, he applied for an optional visa and extended his trip to 5 August 2026, requesting AIG extend his insurance. AIG refused, stating extensions were only available for medical reasons, and directed him to seek alternative insurance. Mr O purchased a separate policy for £360.97 and complained. The ombudsman found AIG's refusal to extend was fair because visa delays were excluded and the visa was not required to complete the original trip, but upheld the complaint because AIG mis-advised Mr O on multiple occasions about when extensions could be triggered. The ombudsman awarded £100 compensation for the mis-advice and confusion caused, but rejected reimbursement of the alternative insurance cost as this would have been necessary regardless.
The Ombudsman's reasoning
The ombudsman found that AIG acted fairly in refusing to extend the policy free of charge because: (1) the policy clearly excluded cover for visa-related delays in the IPID and curtailment section; (2) the visa Mr O sought was optional and not required to complete the original trip; (3) Mr O's decision to remain abroad to await the visa was his own choice, not beyond his reasonable control. However, AIG acted unfairly by mis-advising Mr O on multiple occasions that trip extensions were only available for medical reasons, when the policy terms actually allowed extensions for other circumstances beyond the customer's control. The ombudsman rejected the claim for reimbursement of the alternative insurance cost (£360.97) because Mr O would have always needed to incur this cost, as additional cover could not be purchased once a trip had started. Compensation of £100 was awarded to recognise the distress and inconvenience caused by the repeated mis-advice.
How this compares
| Group | Decisions | Uphold rate |
|---|---|---|
| AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL GROUP UK LIMITED trading as AIG UK, all decisions | 1 | 50% |
| Service failures generally, all decisions | 34,193 | 32% |
| Travel insurance, all decisions | 7,668 | 37% |
Source
Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website