FOS complaints data needs to be put into context says the ABI

Thursday, 25 February 2010 12:00 AM

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

"It is important for consumers to have clear and meaningful information about the performance of companies who manage their insurances and investments, including how they handle complaints.

"The ABI's own data puts complaints into clearer perspective. For example, the actual number of motor insurance complaints referred to the FOS equated to one complaint per 4,100 motor policies; one complaint per 12,700 travel insurance policies, and one complaint for every 14,700 annuity contracts. Going forward, it is important for the FOS to adopt a similar approach when publishing its complaints data. This approach will help customers to make informed choices about an individual company's performance, and provide the right incentive for individual firms to improve their performance as necessary."

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Notes for Editors

1. Enquiries to:
Nicholas Burke 020 7216 7392 (Mobile: 07725 245 841)
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. 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.

3. An ABI briefing note, setting out our concerns about the FOS complaints 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: www.abi.org.uk.

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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