FCA reports 58% increase in ‘other general insurance’ complaints in H2 2019

The FCA has recorded a 58% increase in ‘other general insurance’ complaints between 2019’s H1 and H2, as recorded in its six-monthly complaints data published today.

The regulator found that ‘other general insurance’ ranked as the fourth most complained about product in the second half of 2019, with 317,890 reported complaints compared to 200,592 complaints in the first half of 2019.

The FCA attributed this staggering 58% incline to an increase in the number of complaints made about one firm.

The volume of motor and transport insurance complaints, on the other hand, has decreased by 3% between 2019’s H1 and H2, from 248,461 complaints in the first half of the year to 242,041 in the second half of 2019.

Payment protection insurance (PPI) ranked at the most complained about product, followed by current accounts and credit cards.

Insurance and pure protection complaints made up 76% of all complaints in the second half of 2019, up from 67% in H1 last year. The majority (81%) of complaints in this sector relate to PPI.

In total, firms received 6.02m complaints in 2019 H2, compared to 4.29m in 2019 H1.

The average redress paid per upheld complaint, excluding PPI, decreased from £200 in 2019 H1 to £184 in 2019 H2.

Nick Govier, managing director, client relationships at Huntswood, said: “The PPI deadline has caused an unprecedented surge in complaints, driven in part by claims management companies stepping up their activity.

“This has been a significant task for firms to manage and the drop in eight-week closure times is not unexpected, but the end is now in sight.

“In addition, the significant 58% increase in general insurance complaints in the second half of 2019 has been driven by the FCA’s intervention on pricing and fairness in the market. This is an area which is under review and being closely monitored by the industry.”