Partially upheld: Service failures generally complaint against Tokio Marine Kiln Insurance Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr and Mrs C complained that Tokio Marine Kiln Insurance Limited mishandled their travel insurance claim following Mr C's serious illness and hospitalization abroad. Mrs C, who depended on Mr C for care, was left vulnerable when Tokio failed to communicate its repatriation arrangements to their son, prompting him to bring his parents home independently. While Tokio had been making reasonable efforts to arrange Mr C's return with medical escort, it failed to keep the family informed and did not inform Mrs C of available assistance under the policy's accompanying traveller coverage despite knowing she was struggling. The ombudsman partially upheld the complaint, rejecting the claim for hourly carer fees but awarding £350 compensation for the distress and inconvenience caused by Tokio's poor communication and failure to assist the vulnerable Mrs C.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

Tokio's failure to communicate repatriation arrangements to Mr C's son at a critical time (discharge from hospital) constituted poor service and led to the family taking matters into their own hands. While the ombudsman found Tokio was not unreasonably slow in organizing repatriation and rejected the claim for hourly carer fees (as the son did not give Tokio sufficient time to finalize plans), Tokio should have done more to help Mrs C by informing her of the accompanying traveller coverage available under the policy, particularly given her known vulnerability.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website