Before the event motor insurance legal policy

[Bte2131]

Hi

i purchased legal expense policy with LV=. Unfortunately I have had a no fault accident and need to use the policy. LV= use a third party company and the solicitor they provided has proven to be incompetent. I complained to LV= and registered a complaint. They redirected me back to their 3rd party. I explained my problem and said my contract was with LV= and that I had paid them a sum to provide legal expense, it was their choice to sub contract this out. As an example I said that when I purchase an item from amazon and their delivery provider fails I go back to amazon not the delivery firm as amazon have the obligation to deliver. I believe that this reflects the legal position I have with LV=. First of all am I correct? Secondly is there any contract case law that I can refer to that supports this?

[des8]

FOC have this to say about maladministration by solicitors appointed by insurers: (this is aimedat insurers so "you" is the insurance company)

"Consumers sometimes complain to us about insurers or solicitors who have handled a claim poorly. This is sometimes called ‘maladministration’.

When we make a decision about these cases, we take account of the fact that legal action can be a lengthy, complex process. There are also the restrictions of court timetables to consider.

We don’t usually hold you responsible for the way your panel solicitors carry out litigation on a day-to-day basis. And if the policyholder has instructed their own solicitor, you’ll have no responsibility, unless you tried to influence or control the course of proceedings.

However, if a solicitor handled a claim poorly, and you were aware of this but didn’t intervene, we may tell you to compensate the policyholder for distress and inconvenience, financial loss, or damage.

If the legal action is still running, we’ll think carefully before asking you to find alternative solicitors, as this could cause further delay."

so before taking (expensive?) legal action on your own try the FOC.
Slow, and not always reliable but if you disagree with their decision you can then commence your own legal action