Bertie Editorial · Published 28 July 2026
Every insurer makes wrong calls sometimes, and the system knows it, which is why a formal, free complaints route exists with a genuinely independent referee at the end of it. If you think a claim was wrongly refused or badly handled, here’s the route, and it’s more effective than most people expect.
Before you complain, ask the right question
Start by asking the insurer to explain the decision in writing, against the specific wording of your policy. Not “computer says no”, but which clause, applied to which fact. Two useful things happen. Genuine mistakes and misunderstandings often get fixed right here, especially where your vet can clarify the clinical detail. And if the answer doesn’t hold up, you now have the insurer’s position in writing, which is exactly what the next steps need.
Loop your vet in early. Where a refusal leans on the clinical history, a short letter from the vet clarifying dates or diagnosis does more than pages of argument from anyone else.
Making the formal complaint
If the explanation doesn’t resolve it, tell the insurer clearly that you are making a complaint. Every insurer has a published complaints process, usually an email address or form, and the word “complaint” matters because it starts the regulatory clock.
Keep the complaint itself simple. What happened, what the policy says, why the decision is wrong, and what you want done. Attach the paperwork that proves each point, which is where the tidy claims file you kept earns its keep.
The insurer then has up to eight weeks to give you a final response under FCA rules. Many answer well inside that. If eight weeks pass without a final response, you don’t have to keep waiting, because the next door is now open.
Taking it to the Financial Ombudsman
The Financial Ombudsman Service is the independent referee for disputes with UK financial firms, insurers included. It’s free, you don’t need any legal help, and it looks at what’s fair as well as what the small print says.
You can go to the ombudsman once you have the insurer’s final response, or once the eight weeks are up, and you have six months from the final response to do it. The process is built for ordinary customers. You explain what happened, send the paperwork, and a case handler takes it from there. If the ombudsman finds in your favour, the insurer is bound by the decision once you accept it.
Keep the perspective
Most claims are paid without any of this, and most disputes end at the written-explanation stage. But knowing the route changes how the whole relationship feels, because you’re never at the mercy of one department’s decision. Ask for the reasoning, complain formally if it’s weak, and let the free referee settle it if it comes to that. That’s the system working as designed, and it’s firmly on the side of the customer who kept their paperwork.
Bertie explains insurance, it doesn’t sell it or advise on it. For a recommendation on a specific policy, speak to an authorised adviser or broker.
Your questions, answered
- How long does my insurer have to respond to a complaint?
- Under FCA rules the insurer has up to eight weeks to give you a final response. Many resolve complaints much faster, but eight weeks is the backstop, and if it passes without a final response you can go straight to the Financial Ombudsman Service.
- Does it cost anything to go to the Financial Ombudsman?
- No. The Financial Ombudsman Service is free for consumers, you don't need a lawyer, and using it doesn't affect your right to go to court later if you wanted to. The insurer is bound by the ombudsman's decision if you accept it, but you aren't bound if you don't.
- Is complaining actually worth the effort?
- Often, yes. A meaningful share of insurance complaints are resolved in the customer's favour, either by the insurer on review or at the ombudsman. Claims can be declined on genuine policy terms, but they can also be declined on errors and over-broad readings of exclusions, and the process exists precisely to catch those.