Not upheld: Travel / life insurance claim disputes complaint against Cigna Europe Insurance Company SA

Decision detail

Summary

Mr T complained about Cigna's decision to withdraw his personal accident insurance policy, which he had held since 1987 with annual renewals. Cigna notified him in early 2019 that it would not renew his policy from October 2019 as it was exiting the health market. The ombudsman found that the policy was annually renewable rather than a long-term contract, and Cigna was entitled to make this commercial decision. With over seven months' notice provided, the ombudsman concluded Cigna had acted fairly and did not uphold the complaint.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that as the policy was annually renewable rather than a long-term contract, Cigna was not obliged to continue providing cover at renewal. Cigna's decision to withdraw from the market was a legitimate exercise of commercial judgment. The seven months' notice provided was fair and gave Mr T sufficient opportunity to seek alternative cover.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website