Not upheld: Motor insurance, claim handling complaint against Admiral Insurance (Gibraltar) Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Miss S complained that Admiral Insurance handled her motor insurance claim unfairly after her car was damaged by a third-party driver in January 2026. She objected to Admiral writing off the car as a total loss (Cat N) without consulting her first, and to the deduction of the £750 policy excess despite her not being at fault. Admiral also made an administrative error by recording that it had spoken with Miss S about the assessment when it had not. The ombudsman found that Admiral acted within its contractual rights, the write-off assessment was reasonable, the excess was properly deductible under the policy terms, and Admiral subsequently recovered the excess from the third-party insurer, leaving Miss S with no financial loss. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied regulatory requirements for prompt and fair claims handling against the policy terms which granted Admiral the right to investigate and settle claims. The desktop assessment conclusion that the car was a Cat N write-off was found to be reasonable based on the Damage Assessment Report. While Admiral could have communicated better with Miss S and made an administrative error in its records, the ombudsman found Miss S was in the same position she would have been in regardless, as Admiral would have always decided to write off the car. The policy terms clearly required Miss S to pay the excess regardless of fault, and Admiral's subsequent recovery of the excess from the third-party insurer meant Miss S suffered no financial loss.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website