Insurance

There are certain types of insurance we need to have – like car insurance and buildings insurance. But other insurance policies we choose to have – like private medical or dental insurance. We receive complaints from consumers about a range of insurance products. 

We look at the facts and circumstances of each individual complaint. We listen impartially to both you and the business when deciding what's fair and reasonable in the circumstances. We also take into account:

• the policy wording
• any relevant laws and regulations
• industry codes of conduct and best practice
• any relevant evidence like medical reports, photos, application and claims forms 

Once we’ve considered everything, we’ll set out our findings, explaining whether we think the business has treated you fairly, or not. If we think the business has treated you unfairly, we’ll set out what we think needs to be done to put things right.

It is currently taking around 5 months for us to allocate a complaint about insurance to a case handler for review. It may take longer if your complaint is about property insurance, where some of the most complex cases we receive - for example, about subsidence - can take up to 10 months.

If you’re facing financial hardship or severe ill health, please let us know. We’re working hard to reduce this wait time, so you may hear from us sooner than this. Once your complaint is allocated, you can expect to receive an initial assessment within 90 days.

You may also find the Money Advice Service website useful if you want to contact one of the independent free charities that can help people in financial difficulty.