FOS berates boiler insurers

The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) has said boiler insurers are failing to organise repairs or pay enough for the distress and inconvenience of a broken boiler, the Guardian reports.

"While many insurers respond promptly and sympathetically to claims involving domestic emergencies, the cases we see suggest that some insurers fail to appreciate the extent to which delays on their part can create real difficulties for consumers,” the FOS says in a report out today.

The FOS often ruled that insurance companies were not paying out enough for the distress and inconvenience caused by a broken down boiler.

Dire situation

"In any case where somebody is left in a dire situation insurers must look at what is reasonable to expect that person to endure," said a spokesman for the FOS.

"Often disputes emerge over additional time and delays above and beyond what is reasonable and also an individual's situation such as whether they are elderly or sick and what impact this can have. In those cases lack of heating can be really significant."