David was unhappy that his insurer declined his claim for a lost mobile phone. The insurer said it had evidence to show that David had acted fraudulently.
What happened
David made a claim on his mobile phone insurance policy when he lost his phone after dropping it overboard while out at sea. The insurer assessed his claim and requested a copy of David’s phone usage from his network provider. The evidence showed the phone was being used after the date David said he’d lost it, so the insurer declined his claim.
David disagreed and felt his insurer acted unfairly, and made a complaint. Unhappy with its final response, he contacted us to investigate his complaint.
What we said
We looked at David’s complaint and thought it was reasonable of the insurer to make enquiries into the phone’s usage when assessing a claim. We were persuaded by the credibility of the network provider’s system, so we thought it was reasonable for the insurer to rely on this particular evidence.
Looking at the evidence, were satisfied it was fair to conclude that David had reported a loss that, on balance, hadn’t occurred in order to get a new phone he wasn’t otherwise entitled to under the policy. We decided to not uphold David's complaint and we said it was reasonable for the insurer to decline the claim.