DRN-6076651

The complaint Mrs H has complained Yoga Insurance Services Limited cancelled her motor insurance policy. What happened Mrs H took out a motor insurance policy through Yoga in July 2023 and it was renewed in July 2024. She opted to pay for the insurance on a monthly basis and Yoga arranged for a finance provider to provide the credit to her for the cost of the policy. Mrs H’s direct debit to pay for her policy was stopped, so Yoga sent a letter on 1 April 2025 saying her policy would be cancelled within seven days if the direct debit wasn’t reinstated. The policy was then cancelled on 14 April 2025. Yoga told Mrs H that, because there was an open claim, no refund was due, and she’d need to pay the remainder of her premium. And, later, Yoga arranged a recovery agent to pursue the outstanding debt. Mrs H complained to Yoga, saying she tried to update her payment details using their customer portal, but there were problems doing so. And that she had problems using their online chat system. Yoga wrote a complaint response letter in August 2025, not upholding the complaint. Mrs H then referred her complaint to this Service, saying she wants Yoga to have her policy remain valid, erase her debt and cancellation charges, and pay compensation for poor handling. An Investigator looked into what happened but didn’t think Yoga had done anything wrong. The complaint couldn’t be resolved, so it has come to me to decide. 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 ours is an informal service, I’m not going to comment on every point or piece of evidence Mrs H and Yoga sent us. Instead, I’ve focused on what I consider to be key or central to the complaint. But I’d like to reassure both that I have considered everything submitted. There are three separate parties Mrs H may have concerns about: the insurer, the credit provider, and Yoga as the broker. What I’ve considered is whether Yoga acted fairly in their role as a broker in administering Mrs H’s policy, arranging the cancellation when they did, and passing on any information about the outstanding premium owed to the credit provider. Yoga arranged for a credit provider to agree a separate arrangement with Mrs H so they could take payments over monthly instalments for her premium. When the arrangement was stopped, Yoga warned Mrs H the policy would be cancelled. And subsequently cancelled the policy when she didn’t reinstate her direct debit. The policy allows Yoga to cancel Mrs H’s policy when a premium payment couldn’t be collected. And it says Yoga will do this by sending her seven days’ notice in writing to the last address notified to them. I understand that the direct debit was cancelled due to an issue

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at the bank. But the premium wasn’t paid and, after reasonable attempts at alerting Mrs H, Yoga are entitled to cancel the policy. When Yoga found the monthly payment wasn’t paid, they gave reasonable notice by text message, email and letter. So, I’m satisfied when they cancelled the policy, they did so fairly and line with the policy terms. The policy sets out that refunds won’t be given if a claim has been made before a policy is cancelled – and that if a policyholder is paying through a finance provider, Yoga will write to confirm the account balance. Mrs H was involved in a claim that was still open at the time the policy was cancelled, so it’s not unfair for Yoga to have contacted Mrs H about it. And when they hadn’t heard from Mrs H, the policy allows them to pass any outstanding debt to a debt recovery agency – which is what they did. So, I don’t think they acted unfairly in cancelling the policy the way they did or for arranging a company to pursue Mrs H for the outstanding premium. Mrs H said she was trying to update her direct debit details through the portal, but the system prevented her from doing so. She said she didn’t refuse to pay and that she tried to reinstate the policy through Yoga’s website. And it was then that she found out the insurer wouldn’t be willing to insure her at her new address. She said if cover wasn’t available, then the policy was incapable of providing insurance from that point – so she doesn’t understand how a full annual premium can reasonably be demanded. I appreciate that Mrs H didn’t manage to update her direct debit details through the portal, but I found the cancellation notices to be clear, and I think, on reading the notices, a reasonable person will have understood that the policy would be cancelled if she didn’t contact Yoga in time. I’m sorry to hear about distress caused by the cancellation and being pursued for the outstanding premium, but I think Yoga’s actions were fair and in line with the terms of the policy. So, I won’t be directing them to take any action. Mrs H has concerns over whether the insurer should have charged her the full premium even if hers was an address they wouldn’t have agreed to. Mrs H’s insurer would determine what risk they would be willing to cover, not Yoga as the broker, and this will have included whether they will have arranged a mid-term adjustment for her new address. From what I’ve seen, Mrs H’s change of address wasn’t relevant to the cancellation of Mrs H’s policy. I also understand Mrs H has made complaints about how her insurer handled a claim she made on her policy. I won’t be commenting on that here either as Yoga aren’t responsible for the insurer’s actions when dealing with a claim. My final decision For the reasons above, I don’t uphold this complaint. Under the rules of the Financial Ombudsman Service, I’m required to ask Mrs H to accept or reject my decision before 15 May 2026. Andrew Wakatsuki-Robinson Ombudsman

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