Aviva and Legal & General are among insurers who are not signatories to the Protection Distributors Group Claims Charter 2024 which aims to improve outcomes for claimants by raising levels of best practice.
After assessing information on how insurers support claimants, the PDG has announced the list of Claims Charter signatories for 2024.
The list is based on new criteria focused on the time taken to assess claims forms and medical evidence, in addition to the existing charter criteria.
Seven insurers have already reached the benchmark and been named as signatories, namely Aegon, AIG, Guardian, Holloway, HSBC Life, Royal London, and Shepherds Friendly.
These signatories will be issued with a 2024 Claims Charter badge to show advisers they have met this year’s criteria.
However, some insurers, such as Aviva and Legal & General, are yet to become signatories to the charter.
Explaining this, an Aviva spokesperson said: “We acknowledge the PDG’s intent with their claims charter and we are committed to making continual improvements to our overall claims process to build on our already strong +80 customer TNPS.
“We already operate an ‘opt in’ notification service to all of our claimants giving them the choice of who and when to tell about their claim.
“For claimants with policies taken out from 2015, our settlement letters also highlight the benefit to customers of speaking with their adviser about their claims.”
Additionally, a spokesperson for Legal & General stated: "We remain committed to improving the claims experience and delivering the best outcomes for our customers and their families.
"This year we have taken huge strides in enhancing our systems - and investing in the capabilities of our people - to streamline processes and alleviate wait times. Significant improvements like these require time to take effect."
Criteria update
As previously announced, this year the charter was updated to introduce two new criteria relating to the time taken to assess both claims and forms and medical evidence once received.
The charter now requires signatories to assess claims forms within three working days and evidence within five working days.
While this new criteria makes charter status harder to achieve, the group believes these additions are an important evolution given growing concerns about insurer service levels relating to claims.
PDG chair, Neil McCarthy, said: “In response to concerns about service standards, we have introduced two new criteria to the Claims Charter which we feel ensure that the charter is robust and reflects our commitment to raising standards across the industry.
“We are aware that a number of insurers have experienced challenges relating to service levels and we are mindful that the number of charter signatories this year has fallen, but we are really encouraged by the endeavors insurers are making to raise standards.
“We are engaged with those insurers not currently signed up to the Charter to stay close to the improvements that they are making and remain committed to raising standards across the whole industry.”
The charter, which was introduced in 2018, sets out a number of criteria which must be met before an insurer can become a signatory.
The PDG said it will continue to work with insurers to raise standards in claims service where delays can cause financial problems for claimants as well as additional worry and distress.
A number of advisers across the industry have previously raised concerns about significant delays experienced at claim stage and the PDG said it is committed to working to improve customer outcomes.
tom.dunstan@ft.com
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