Causation
Did the insured event actually cause the damage, or does the available evidence point to another cause?
IDS FOS Insurance Outcomes Monitor
Financial Ombudsman Didn’t Uphold Your Insurance Complaint?
A large proportion of insurance complaints resolved by the Financial Ombudsman Service are not upheld. This page explains what that means, where you may be in the FOS process and what should be reviewed before assuming the underlying insurance dispute is over.
Reviewed by Mr Gary Smith
Legal Director and Insurance Expert
30+ years’ litigation and dispute experience
Reviewed 30 August 2026
FCA Regulated Claims-Management Activities
Insurance Dispute Specialists
Litigation & Barrister Access
Confidential Initial Review
First identify the stage
What have you received from FOS?
An investigator assessment, a provisional ombudsman decision and a final ombudsman decision are not the same thing. Choose the stage that best describes where your complaint currently stands.
Latest public outcomes data
The majority were not upheld in these two property categories
FOS publishes product-level complaint volumes and uphold rates. The not-upheld figures below are simply the complement of the published uphold rate for complaints resolved during Q1 2026/27.
Insurance product
Upheld
Not upheld
Buildings Insurance
33%
67%
Commercial Property Insurance
37%
63%
These percentages do not mean the unsuccessful complaints were wrongly decided.
They show why there is a substantial group of policyholders and businesses who
may want to understand exactly why their complaint failed and what, if anything,
remains realistically open to them.
What can drive an unsuccessful outcome?
The reasoning often turns on evidence, wording and the precise insured event
Published decisions are case-specific, but property-insurance complaints repeatedly raise a number of recurring technical issues.
Wear & deterioration
Storm, roof, damp and water claims can turn on whether long-term condition rather than a sudden event was the dominant cause.
Policy exclusions
An insurer may rely on an exclusion relating to occupancy, defective design, illegal activity, gradual damage or another defined restriction.
Policy conditions
Commercial and landlord claims can involve inspections, reasonable precautions, occupancy requirements or other conditions of cover.
Evidence
Surveyor, engineer, loss-adjuster and policyholder evidence can materially affect how the disputed issue is understood.
About the IDS pilot research:
IDS has begun coding a pilot sample of 100 published not-upheld property-insurance
final decisions to identify themes for future editions of the Outcomes Monitor.
We are not publishing percentage findings from that pilot yet because the coding
is still being strengthened. The 67% and 63% figures above come directly from
published FOS product-level uphold rates, not from the IDS pilot sample.
What an IDS review looks at
A FOS position review is not simply another appeal
The purpose is to understand where the complaint actually failed, whether the underlying insurance dispute has been properly tested and whether any further step would be realistic and proportionate.
01
The insurer’s original decision
What exactly was rejected, reduced or disputed, and what factual and policy basis did the insurer rely upon?
02
The policy wording
Which definitions, exclusions, conditions, endorsements or settlement provisions actually govern the disputed issue?
03
The evidence
What material did the insurer and FOS rely upon, what did they reject, and is there a genuine evidential gap rather than simply disagreement?
04
The FOS reasoning
Where did the complaint actually fail: causation, wording, credibility, valuation, procedure, evidence or another issue?
05
The route and proportionality
What stage is the complaint at, what options may legally and practically remain, and would taking another step make commercial sense?
Important: IDS is not the Financial Ombudsman Service and this is not a promise to overturn a FOS decision.
Check My Position
Some unsuccessful complaints have no sensible further route. A credible review should identify that too. FOS is free for eligible complainants to use directly and you do not need a paid representative to make a FOS complaint.
A low-friction first step
Start with the stage and the decision — not a huge form
We only need enough information to identify the enquiry and contact you. Documents can follow once the lead has been captured.
Tell us your FOS stage
Choose investigator, provisional decision, final decision not accepted, or final decision already accepted.
Leave your contact details
Name, telephone and email are enough for the initial contact. Your insurer is optional.
Send the decision after
Once your enquiry is captured, you can upload the investigator assessment, provisional decision or final FOS decision securely.
FOS decision questions
Know the difference between disagreement and an available route
A poor outcome does not automatically mean there is another appeal. The procedural stage matters.
Research methodology
The Outcomes Monitor uses published FOS complaint statistics and anonymised
published final decisions. FOS explains that individual published decisions
are case-specific and are not definitive statements of law or of its general approach.
View the FOS decisions database
.
Can I appeal an investigator’s assessment?
If you disagree with the investigator’s assessment, FOS says you can ask for the complaint to be referred to an ombudsman for a decision. The ombudsman considers the complaint afresh.
Can I appeal a final ombudsman decision to another ombudsman?
FOS does not provide another ombudsman appeal simply because a party disagrees with the final decision. Other routes, if any, depend on the circumstances and should not be assumed to exist.
What if I have not accepted the final FOS decision?
FOS explains that if a consumer does not accept a final decision, it is not binding on the financial business and the consumer may still be able to pursue other action. Whether that is realistic in an insurance dispute depends on the policy, evidence, value, legal position and proportionality.
What if I already accepted the final decision?
FOS states that an accepted final decision becomes binding on the financial business. Acceptance therefore materially changes the position. Specific legal advice may be needed if you are considering any further step.
Do I need IDS to use the Financial Ombudsman Service?
No. FOS is free for eligible complainants to use directly and you do not need paid representation to make a complaint. IDS is an independent service and is not affiliated with FOS.
Can IDS guarantee a different outcome?
No. Every dispute depends on its own policy, facts, evidence, procedural stage and available routes. The purpose of the initial review is to identify whether there appears to be anything substantive and proportionate left to pursue.
What should I send IDS?
Start with the insurer’s decision, the relevant policy and the latest FOS assessment or decision. If you have expert reports, key correspondence or a chronology, those can also be relevant. You do not need to upload everything before requesting initial contact.
Where can I read the official FOS decision process?
FOS explains its investigator, ombudsman and final-decision process on its official website. Read how FOS makes decisions .
FOS didn’t uphold your insurance complaint?
Tell us what stage you have reached. We can review the position and explain whether there appears to be anything realistic left to pursue — or tell you if we do not think there is.