ABI: FOS complaints data risks misleading consumers

Tuesday, 15 September 2009 12:00 AM

Responding to publication by the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) of firm-specific complaints data, Maggie Craig, the ABI's Director of Consumer Strategy, said:

"The insurance industry acknowledges that improvements are needed in the way that it handles customer complaints, and is taking steps to address the issue. It's absolutely right that consumers should know about the performance of firms who look after their insurance and investment needs, and complaints handling is an important part of that. But any such data must be presented in a way that helps consumers make informed choices. Unfortunately, the way that the FOS has chosen to present the data doesn't achieve this aim, and may in fact mislead consumers about the performance of individual firms. For example, consumers can't compare performance by sector or by product.

"In order to try to provide some context to the debate about complaints handling, the ABI has brought together data showing the number of complaints in the context of the overall quantity of different types of insurance policy, such as motor, home and life insurance, and pensions and investments. This is the type of information which will help consumers to make informed choices about where to buy their financial products, and thus inspire companies themselves to improve their performance. We hope that in the future, both the FOS and the FSA will take this on board and adapt the way that they present complaints data."

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Notes for Editors

1. Enquiries to:
Jonathan French 020 7216 7392 (Mobile: 07958 330 480)
Malcolm Tarling 020 7216 7410 (Mobile: 07776 147 667)
Erfan Hussain 020 7216 7411 (Mobile: 07712 841 184)
Kelly Ostler-Coyle 020 7216 7415 (Mobile: 07968 364 302)

2. An ABI briefing note, setting out our concerns about the FOS data publication, and putting the number of complaints into context with the total number of different types of insurance policies in force, can be downloaded from the ABI web site, www.abi.org.uk.

3. The ABI is the voice of the insurance and investment industry. Its members constitute over 90 per cent of the insurance market in the UK and 20 per cent across the EU. They control assets equivalent to a quarter of the UK's capital. They are the risk managers of the UK's economy and society. Through the ABI their voice is heard in Government and in public debate on insurance, savings and investment matters.

4. An ISDN line is available for broadcasts.

5. More news and information from the ABI is available on our web site, www.abi.org.uk.

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