Financial Services Ombudsman Joe Meade has told an insurance company to pay more than €200,000 to a former professional rugby player after his claim under an IRFU insurance policy was rejected.
The decision was one of a number made by the ombudsman in the first six months of the year.
Professional rugby players are under contract to the IRFU and can qualify for permanent total disablement benefit if they cannot pursue their professional career as a result of injury.
The player concerned suffered a total dislocation of one knee in August 2000, but after attempts at rehabilitation, his IRFU contract was terminated in 2002. He had played amateur rugby as part of his attempt to recover. His claim was submitted in 2004.
The insurance company referred to the player's participation in amateur rugby and said there was late notification of the claim.
The ombudsman ruled that the policy clearly referred to the ability to play professional rugby. He said the IRFU had a duty to notify the company of an accident which may lead to a claim, but the insurance company was lax and did not ensure a proper notification procedure was laid down.
Mr Meade told the IRFU and the company to enter into urgent talks to ensure that proper notification systems were put in place within three months of his decision in April.
Among other decisions, the ombudsman directed an insurance company to pay a specified illness cover payment of €165,000 after the company disputed whether the complainant had had a heart attack.
The parents of a deceased tourist received €4,000 after an Irish-based travel insurance company refused to pay for the cost of repatriating the body. The company said it was not responsible for any claims that were related to being 'under the influence of alcohol'. The ombudsman found the company had acted incorrectly and its handling of the claim was highly insensitive.
The ombudsman also instructed three mortgage brokers to pay out a total of €61,000 after giving poor investment advice to clients.
He also drew the attention of a bank to the possibility of a weakness in its systems after the theft of a customer's ATM card. The thief then turned up at one of the bank's branches and was given €4,000 across the counter without having to produce proper identity. The ombudsman awarded €4,000 to the customer. This followed a similar incident at the same bank when €2,500 was withdrawn.
