Not upheld: Home insurance claim disputes complaint against National House-Building Council (NHBC)

Decision detail

Summary

Mr and Mrs N complained that NHBC unfairly settled their claim for flat roof damage by only paying 75% of the repair costs, withholding 25% because a commercial unit in their development had a policy exclusion for flat roofs. They argued the warranty was mis-sold due to insufficient disclosure of this exclusion. The ombudsman found that NHBC's apportionment based on service charge proportions was fair and reasonable, and that the ombudsman could not consider the commercial unit's policy as Mr and Mrs N were not parties to it. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that NHBC's apportionment of the claim based on service charge proportions was an objectively fair and reasonable exercise of its discretion under the policy terms. The ombudsman was not able to consider the commercial unit's claim as Mr and Mrs N were not covered under that policy and had not brought a complaint about it. The ombudsman concluded that NHBC acted fairly and reasonably in line with the policy terms when settling Mr and Mrs N's specific claim for 75% of the repair costs.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website