UK Life Insurance Company FAQ

How do I complain about a life insurance company?

Life insurance is an interesting financial product, as some of the insurance products are regulated, and some of them are not. Those policies that are regulated involve an investment portion to go with the protection portion. However, whether or not a life insurance product is regulated, there is a complaints process against life insurance companies.

The first person you should contact in the case of a complaint is the person that you actually dealt with in the first place. You need to do this first as it will help you later on. Should you start at the top then there is no where to go should you not get the answer you were looking for.

Should that first person insist that they can't help you, you should ask them for the job title and the name of the official complaints handler of the company. You should also ask for full details of the company's complaints procedure to be sent to you.

Whatever complaint you have, you should conduct all further business in writing, which keeps a record of the communication between you and whoever you are complaining to. A complaint letter should have the word "complaint" at the top, along with your customer or account number. The letter should be concise and to the point. You should set the facts out clearly and chronologically if possible.

You would be best advised to be clear about what kind of compensation you require. It's actually easier and for the company to deal with if they know what you are after. Make sure you keep copies of all correspondence between yourself and the life assurance company, and send in copies of all relevant documents.

The life assurance company will eventually provide you with a final response to your complaint. This could be a settlement, which you could accept, or it could be a letter of deadlock, where they declare that they can't help you any further on your complaint. It is ONLY once you have received a final response letter that you can escalate your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

The Financial Ombudsman service was set up to arbitrate in disputes between customers and financial firms. The service it offers is free for consumers, and you can go to court should you not accept the ombudsman's decision, but the firm has to accept the ombudsman's decision.

You need make sure that you write to the Financial Ombudsman service within six months of the receipt of your final response letter from the company you are in dispute with. You will be sent an official complaint form, and you should send this back with copies of all related documents.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Life Insurance

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