Saima Hanif QC and Theodor van Sante obtain permission to judicially review the FOS

On 16 March 2022, Mr Justice Mostyn granted permission for an international insurance company to seek judicial review of four separate decisions by the Financial Ombudsman Service (“FOS”) that each determined that the FOS has jurisdiction to consider certain PPI complaints. Saima Hanif QC and Theodor van Sante are acting for the insurer, instructed by Jonathan Cavill at Pinsent Masons.

The judicial review concerns the jurisdiction of the FOS to consider complaints against the insurer where the PPI was sold by three particular distributors.  In particular, this turns on whether or not the FOS was correct to determine those distributors acted as implied agent for the insurer in selling PPI cover, written under the terms of master policies of insurance in favour of the distributors, and pursuant to various distribution contracts. The substantive judicial review hearing will take place in due course.