Context
Which? has announced that it is using its legal powers to make a ‘super-complaint’ to the FCA about home and travel insurance, having been making its own investigations into practices in these markets for over a year. This comes after the FCA issued a review report in July about home and travel insurance claims handling arrangements, in which it set out areas for improvement but also examples of good practice.
In introducing its report, the FCA said, specifically “We saw examples of good practice but also many areas where improvements need to be made. We will provide individual feedback to some of the firms within the review and will use our regulatory tools as appropriate where we see consumer harm.
Key points to note and next actions
- Which? says: “While the FCA has acknowledged ‘substandard’ service and widespread failings among insurers, it’s taken little decisive action to address the problems in these markets.”
- It has found “systemic problems with how policies are sold and explained, and also with how claims are then handled.”. As a result, Which? believes that “…as a result, too many customers are being sold policies that don’t end up delivering as expected”.
- Which? now wants the FCA to undertake a new Market Study into the home and travel insurance market, citing ‘poor consumer outcomes’.
- The ABI has pointed out that insurers have paid out over £1.7bn for more than 300,000 home insurance claims in the first half of 2025, and that in 2024, travel insurers paid out £472m across more than 500,000 claims.
- At the very bottom of the published article, Which? recommends that customers ensure they are “familiar with the policy wording”. This piece of advice should perhaps be at the top of the article, to remind consumers that they need to understand what they are buying.