Most complained about general insurers revealed

complaint

Admiral, Aviva, Direct Line, Axa and RSA were the most complained about general insurers in the latter half of 2024.

The latest complaints data from the Financial Ombudsman Service, published today (6 May) showed the number of complaints received for the five major insurers reflected the volume of business these providers achieve as shown by Insurance Post’s Top 100 UK Insurers list.

In the first half of 2024 Admiral received 1,657 new complaints, while in the final six months the ombudsman only had about 1,467 complaints about the insurer.

Direct Line Group, which accepted a £3.6bn bid for the business from rival Aviva at the end of the year, slipped from being the second most complained about insurer at the start of 2024 with 1,555 complaints to third most complained about in the final half of the year with 1,348.

Aviva climbed from third most complained about insurer in the first half of 2024 with 1,427 complaints to second most complained about due to a minor uptick to 1,436 new complaints.

Behind each case are customers waiting for an answer and we are committed to delivering fair, timely and effective resolutions for consumers and businesses alike.

Esure, which leapt from the 11th spot on the ombudsman’s list at the end of 2024 to be the nation’s fourth most complained about insurer in the first half of 2024, now has almost half the number of calls for compensation that it did.

In the first half of 2024, there were 1,193 new complaints made to the ombudsman about Esure while in the latter half of the year FOS only received 634, making it the nation eighth most complained about insurer - one place above soon-to-be new owner Ageas, which had 602 new complaints.

The surge in complaints in the first half of 2024 came as the provider moved 1.8 million policies, more than 1 billion policy datapoints, and 248,000 claims, across to a new platform. 

Las summer also saw Esure accused of negligent customer service on BBC’s The One Show, which highlighted two claims from policyholders who struggled to get in contact with the insurer following accidents. 

Speaking after The One Show aired in July, Esure’s chief claims officer told Post one of the incidents was an “isolated case” caused by switching from one claims system to the other, meaning the customer’s details slipped through the net. They also went on to say the firm experienced “unprecedented call volumes” at the start of 2024, which “placed a significant strain” on its ability to answer customers and address the backlog.

GI bucks trend

In total, the Financial Ombudsman Service received more than 140,000 complaints in the second half of 2024. 

There was an increase in the volume of complaints between July and December 2024 about banking, credit disputes and a rise in motor finance commission cases, but just 22,075 new general insurance and pure protection complaints during the latter half on the year, compared to 22,845 in the latter half of 2023.

Nearly half of all complaints in this period were brought by professional representatives.

James Dipple-Johnstone, interim chief ombudsman at the financial ombudsman service, said: “Behind each case are customers waiting for an answer and we are committed to delivering fair, timely and effective resolutions for consumers and businesses alike.

“The high demand reflected in today’s data underscores not only the vital role our service plays, but also the pressing need for reform to ensure it remains fit for the future. That’s why we’re committed to strengthening the dispute resolution system – so it works better for everyone and reflects the needs of today’s financial landscape.”

Following the exit of Abby Thomas as CEO and chief ombudsman, the Financial Ombudsman outlined its plans to transform and improve its service to tackle the exceptional demand experienced across 2024 to 2025. 

This includes increasing its staffing capacity to resolve complaints and building flexibility into its workforce so that the Financial Ombudsman Service can respond to changes in demand.

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