Most consumers are satisfied with household and travel claims – FCA

The FCA has given a clean bill of health to the handling of household and travel insurance claims.

The regulator said it is not proposing any new requirements or rule changes in this area after a thematic review.

The claims handling review found 65% of household and 64% of travel claimants were satisfied with the way their claim had been handled. Those with successful claims had a much higher satisfaction rate.

The FCA said it had uncovered no evidence of systematic attempts by insurers to deny valid claims, squeeze settlement costs, or to slow claims down. Any slowdowns were the result of poor processes or management, it said.

The review was designed to assess to what extent insurer put consumers making claims at the heart of their business.

While the initial findings of are broadly positive, the FCA said it had identified areas for further discussion that would increase customer satisfaction. These include:

• how in-bound claims calls are recorded and used;
• the ownership of a claim and communication with clients while it is being progressed;
• management of supply chains in household insurance claims;
• how medical conditions are dealt with under travel insurance;
• handling of claims with long chains of delegation; and
• clarity of product documentation.

The FCA will publish its full report next month