Not upheld: Home insurance claim disputes complaint against AXA Insurance UK Plc

Decision detail

Summary

Miss G claimed for storm damage to her garden retaining wall, which AXA initially declined but later agreed to settle. The builder recommended adding drainage work costing £1,525 to prevent future failure, but AXA refused to cover this, classifying it as betterment. The FOS Investigator upheld the complaint, but the Ombudsman disagreed. The Ombudsman found that AXA's obligation was to restore the wall to its pre-loss condition, which it did by agreeing to rebuild it. Since the original wall had stood for 60 years without drainage and there was no evidence that drainage was a necessary requirement rather than a recommended practice, the Ombudsman concluded AXA was not obligated to pay for the drainage work and did not uphold the complaint.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman determined that AXA's obligation was to indemnify Miss G by providing a lasting and effective repair that puts her back in the position she was in immediately before the incident. Since the original wall had stood for 60 years without drainage, rebuilding it to the same standard without drainage constituted a fair and lasting repair. The ombudsman found no evidence that drainage was necessary rather than merely a recommended practice, and no evidence that local authority building control would require it. Therefore, AXA was not obligated to pay for the drainage work.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website