Upheld: Home insurance claim disputes complaint against INTACT INSURANCE UK LIMITED

Decision detail

Summary

Mr L claimed for subsidence damage on his commercial property in 2022, which INTACT declined. After Mr L's own surveyor confirmed subsidence, a first FOS complaint upheld the claim for reassessment. Mr L proceeded with repairs in 2023 after the initial decline. Subsequent complaints addressed settlement delays and INTACT's request for invoice substantiation. INTACT later claimed it had paid the surveyor's report twice and deducted the duplicate, which Mr L believed was interest. The ombudsman upheld the complaint, finding INTACT entitled to verify costs but having communicated unclearly. The ombudsman directed INTACT to instruct a Quantity Surveyor (with Mr L's choice of three), pay reasonable structural engineer costs, provide £300 compensation, and pay interest from 3 January 2025, while rejecting claims for legal fees, council tax, and loan arrangement costs.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that INTACT was entitled to verify invoices and only pay for insured works, but had acted reasonably in requesting further information. However, INTACT could have been clearer in communicating that a payment was a duplicate rather than interest, causing Mr L confusion. The ombudsman rejected Mr L's claims for legal fees (as other free mediation was available), council tax (not covered by policy), and loan arrangement fees (Mr L's choice to proceed with repairs). The ombudsman upheld the claim for reasonable structural engineer costs given Mr L's vulnerabilities. A Quantity Surveyor appointment was deemed the appropriate mechanism to conclude the long-outstanding claim, with Mr L given choice of three surveyors to address independence concerns. Interest from 3 January 2025 was appropriate as that was when INTACT should have made payment.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website