Upheld: Service failures generally complaint against Great Lakes Insurance SE

Decision detail

Summary

Mr and Mrs D complained about Great Lakes Insurance SE's handling of a subsidence claim on their landlord insurance policy. The claim was accepted in November 2024 for drain-related subsidence damage, but Great Lakes failed to progress it efficiently, with avoidable delays until March 2025 for initial repairs, communication failures between Great Lakes and its agents, and poor updates to Mr D who had to repeatedly chase progress. Great Lakes acknowledged the poor service and offered £100 compensation, but the ombudsman found this insufficient given the cumulative impact of repeated errors, including a duplicate excess payment chase and confusion that persisted until August 2025. The complaint was upheld and compensation was increased to £250.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

While subsidence claims naturally take time to investigate and repair, the insurer must still progress them efficiently. The evidence showed avoidable and unreasonable delays, including the time taken for initial drain repairs and the back-and-forth revisions with agents regarding scope of works. Communication failures were evident through multiple instances of Mr D having to chase progress, Great Lakes's own apologies for delays, and confusion that persisted until August 2025. The duplicate excess payment chase compounded the poor service. These repeated errors and failings caused distress, inconvenience, and embarrassment to both Mr and Mrs D in their dealings with their tenant. The £100 compensation offered was insufficient given the cumulative impact of these failures.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website