How to protect yourself. Home Contents Insurance policy holders, please read!

HappyFish2021

swingaloo2 said:

Wow, chip/shoulder!

Should I send the insurer a thank you bouquet then?! 🤣

Sandtree

HappyFish2021 said:
IF the insurer withholds key evidence and the ombudsman is relatively powerless to investigate properly/compel them to hand it over where the suspicion is it is not 'lost' at all, then he is effectively working with one hand tied behind his back and it is an incomplete investigation without all the facts on the table.

The Financial Ombudsman is one of the most powerful ones operating in the UK as the decision of an ombudsman (which is the 2nd tier of case handlers) is binding on the financial services company and they have no option but to abide by the decision... the 1st tier handlers that are called investigators or adjudicators can have their decisions rejected by customer or FS company in which case it automatically goes to an ombudsman for review. All ombudsman decisions are also published on their website in a semi-anonomised format so you can read what sorts of things they are considering.

The Ombudsman doesnt look kindly on insurers who fail to produce what is requested, and that is always "everything", nor when they admit that call recordings have been erased etc. So in the later example the ombudsman will make their decision based on the customer saying X was said and the insurer saying they dont know what was said... you can guess which side that almost always goes on (and its not the insurers)

The Ombudsman can also escalate matters to the FCA, from whom it gets its authority, and the press has carried the stories of HomeServes £30m fine, Lloyds £117m fine etc for poor complaints handling.

This is probably a fairly typical case if you want to see what sorts of things go on when people are complaining about being diddled out of money... https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/files/74723/DRN2741708.pdf The insured wanted to claim £1,200 but couldnt at all substantiate the loss as he paid in cash to a garage that had since closed down, didnt keep a receipt and has already sold the car.

Also remember that effectively every complaint that goes to the ombudsman results in a circa £550 fee to the insurer irrespective if they win or lose the case; only the most frivolous or vexatious ones get thrown out without a fee