AXA Insurance UK Plc · DRN-6253047

The complaint Mrs K complains about the way AXA Insurance UK Plc (“AXA”) dealt with a claim she made on her car insurance policy – in particular the time it took to repair her vehicle and that she didn’t receive a courtesy car. Mrs K is represented by Mr K in her complaint but for ease of reference I’ll refer to Mrs K throughout since she is the policyholder here. What happened In November 2025 Mrs K was involved in an accident whilst driving her car. Her car was damaged so she made a claim on her AXA insurance policy. Mrs K’s car went in for repairs and initially she was told the work on the car would be completed towards the end of November 2025. Mrs K hired a car in the meantime so she could get to work. Mrs K contacted the garage for an update and was told the parts were awaited and there was no timescale of when they were expected. Mrs K called AXA for an update as she needed to make arrangements for her transportation. Mrs K asked AXA to provide a courtesy car but her request was declined because she didn’t have courtesy car cover on her policy. Mrs K says she has spent significant time chasing AXA for updates. She says the communication has been poor throughout and as a result she has been financially and mentally impacted. Mrs K complained to AXA. In its response, AXA said Mrs K didn’t have provision for a courtesy car on her policy and so she wasn’t entitled to a hire vehicle while her own car was being repaired. AXA said the delays in repairing her vehicle were due to the parts being on back order which is an industry-wide issue outside its control. AXA said there was a manufacturing supply issue which was affecting many repair networks. So the complaint wasn’t upheld. Mrs K wasn’t happy with the response from AXA. She said there was a serious lack of communication during the claim process, she should have been provided with a replacement car given the length of the delay, and she didn’t think AXA had been proactive in resolving the delayed repairs. Mrs K referred her complaint to this Service. At this stage AXA made a settlement offer to resolve the complaint. It offered Mrs K £150 to apologise for the distress and inconvenience caused. Mrs K declined the offer and said it didn’t reflect the financial, professional, and psychological inconvenience caused. Our Investigator considered the evidence and concluded that while there were delays and administrative errors on more than one occasion, he thought overall AXA had acted fairly in its handling of the claim. The Investigator said the compensation offer was fair and reasonable and was in line with this Service’s approach to compensation payments.

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Mrs K didn’t agree. She said the quality of communication was poor, using automated messages which gave incorrect information. Mrs K says she had to rent a car which cost her £600 and then insured a different car for a further £170. Mrs K says she also had to take the train on occasion and estimates the financial impact to be around £1,000. Mrs K says dealing with AXA caused her significant distress over the course of her claim. Because Mrs K didn’t agree the complaint has come to me to decide. In March 2024 I issued a provisional decision on this complaint. A copy of my findings is below; ‘Mrs K wants AXA’s managers and employees to be held accountable, and for AXA review and consider its internal processes. Whilst I acknowledge Mrs K’s strong feelings, this Service is not the regulator of financial businesses. My role here is to consider and resolve complaints informally. I don’t have powers to ask an insurer to change the way it conducts its business. I can only look at the service AXA provided to Mrs K in the circumstances that led to this complaint. Delays and replacement parts The incident occurred on 10 November 2025. Mrs K took her car to be repaired and was told it would be ready towards the end of November, but it wasn’t. So she complained to AXA. I can only look at complaints that were dealt with in the final response letter dated 2 January 2026. Anything that happened after this date does not form part of my review. At the time the final response was issued the claim had been ongoing for 53 days – almost two months in total. Clearly being without the use of your own vehicle for almost two months (by the time of the final response) would be inconvenient for Mrs K. But I can only make awards for upset caused by any unnecessary delays I consider AXA caused. In its final response AXA said the delay in the repair had been due to a global shortage, and its claim notes confirm this to be the case. In its final response AXA said it would see if any alternative options were available, and this is what I would expect it to do. However I think it should have taken these steps much earlier. At the point Mrs K complained to AXA, and AXA were aware there was a parts shortage, I would have expected AXA to bear in mind that Mrs K was without her car and assist her by providing a suitable hire vehicle. By the end of November Mrs K had been without her car for three weeks and hadn’t been properly informed or updated as to what was happening with the repairs. By this stage I think it was clear she was going to be without her car for at least another three or four weeks, so I would have expected AXA to provide a replacement car or come up with an alternative fair and reasonable option. I know Mrs K doesn’t have courtesy car cover on her policy. However the delays here were down to AXA not fulfilling its side of the contract (repairing the vehicle promptly) so I would expect it to take steps to support Mrs K. And I don’t think AXA has done that here. Financial impact Mrs K says she spent money on fuel, train fare, and insurance for an alternative car while waiting for her car to be repaired. This is especially significant since Mrs K relies on her car to get to work. At the time the final response was issued AXA said it was checking whether there were any alternative options available, and I think that’s fair. But I do think AXA should have been proactive and acted sooner. So I think it should consider Mrs K’s hire car and

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other expenses for the relevant period 28 November 2025 when the repairs were due to be completed to the date of AXA’s final response; on receipt of the appropriate evidence. Compensation AXA has offered £150 to Mrs K for the delays and miscommunication. Mrs K feels this does not reflect the financial strain and emotional impact the situation has had on her. I have carefully considered Mrs K’s account of how the delays in the repair work affected her. To recognise the distress and inconvenience she experienced, I intend to direct AXA to pay an additional £150. This brings the total compensation to £300. I consider this fair and reasonable, and it aligns with the level of awards this Service typically makes for distress and inconvenience. I appreciate that Mrs K may feel disappointed, given the stress she has experienced and the fact that this outcome does not fully meet the amount she had in mind. However, I hope she can see that I have carefully reviewed the evidence and assessed the impact in line with the Service’s established approach. Responses to my provisional decision AXA replied to say it felt it was being penalised because the parts were on back order and it was a global issue. So it didn’t think it should be held responsible for it. Mrs K didn’t specifically accept my provisional decision but responded to say the payment for distress and inconvenience should be increased to 22 January 2026 when she finally received her car following the repairs. Mrs K also wants me to include all commute related expenses from November 2025 to January 2026. This amounts to around £1,000. What I’ve decided – and why I’ve considered all the available evidence and arguments to decide what’s fair and reasonable in the circumstances of this complaint. As previously explained I can only consider matters occurring prior to AXA’s final response dated 2 January 2026. Anything that happened after this date does not form part of my review. If Mrs K wants AXA to consider costs incurred following the date of its final response letter then she needs to submit the evidence to AXA for its consideration. In response to AXA – in the claim notes it appeared that alternative options were being considered for Mrs K given the delays. But it didn’t recognise that Mrs K was without her vehicle and offer any meaningful support. Which is what I’d expect it to do. However, as neither party has provided any new information I see no reason to change my decision. Putting things right In order to put matters right I intend to direct AXA Insurance UK Plc to; • Pay Mrs K £300 for the distress and inconvenience caused • Reimburse Mrs K for the hire car costs and other expenses for the period from the date the car was due to be repaired (28 November 2025) until the final response letter (2 January 2026), on receipt of evidence of the same,

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• Add 8% simple interest to the reimbursement for the period from 28 November 2025 (when the car was due to be ready) to the date the settlement is paid. My final decision For the reasons set out above, I uphold this complaint and require AXA Insurance UK Plc to resolve the complaint by doing what I set out above. Under the rules of the Financial Ombudsman Service, I’m required to ask Mrs K to accept or reject my decision before 24 April 2026. Kiran Clair Ombudsman

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