A friend had a car accident and authorised me to handle the claim for him. The insurance company took so long that they eventually promised to send me £50 by way of compensation. However they quickly reneged on this, claiming they did not owe me a duty of care. Surely I was entitled to the money once they’d made the promise?
It’s unlikely that the offer from the insurance company amounted to anything more than a “goodwill” gesture. By reneging on it the firm certainly failed on that score! However as such, because nothing was required of you for the money, the offer didn’t amount to a contract so you couldn’t enforce it through the courts. As a general rule insurers are not obliged to pay any “costs” unless proceedings are issued.