When you buy insurance, you are buying a promise. You pay the premium, comply with the policy and reasonably expect the insurer to respond when something goes wrong. Unfortunately, making the claim can sometimes become a dispute in itself.

A claim may be rejected. An insurer may accept the claim but offer considerably less than expected. Months can pass while reports are commissioned and questions repeated. Or a policyholder may suddenly discover that an exclusion, condition or piece of policy wording is being relied upon to avoid or reduce payment.

The following are five recurring insurance complaint themes we believe policyholders should take particularly seriously — and the practical questions to ask when trying to move the dispute forward.

1. “My insurance claim has been rejected”

Perhaps the most serious insurance complaint is also the simplest: the insurer has said no.

A rejection can arrive after weeks or even months of investigation and may refer to exclusions, policy definitions, non-disclosure, wear and tear, gradual deterioration, lack of maintenance, causation or another reason why the insurer says the claim falls outside the policy.

For many policyholders, that letter feels final. It is not necessarily final.

An insurance claim is not determined simply because an insurer has written a rejection letter. The real questions are whether the policy wording has been interpreted correctly, whether the exclusion genuinely applies, whether the evidence supports the conclusion and whether relevant evidence has been overlooked or given insufficient weight.

How to challenge it

Do not focus solely on explaining again why you believe the decision is unfair. Start with the insurer's actual reason for rejection.

Break the rejection down into its component parts. Identify the policy wording being relied upon, the evidence used to support the decision and any assumptions the insurer appears to have made. Then compare those conclusions against the documents, expert evidence, chronology and policy wording.

2. “The insurer has offered me too little”

Sometimes the insurer does not reject the claim. Instead, it makes an offer — and that offer creates an entirely different dispute.

This can happen with buildings claims, contents claims, vehicle valuations, business losses, reinstatement costs and many other types of insurance.

The insurer may say the claim is worth £20,000. The policyholder believes the true loss is £40,000. The dispute is therefore no longer simply about whether the policy responds. It becomes a dispute about how much should actually be paid.

A settlement figure can look substantial when viewed in isolation. The correct question is not simply whether the insurer has offered a large amount. It is:

How to challenge it

You need to understand how the insurer calculated its figure. That may mean examining repair estimates, valuations, depreciation, policy limits, excesses, betterment arguments, underinsurance calculations, expert reports and the basis upon which particular items have been allowed or rejected.

Do not assume that because an insurer has accepted liability, the settlement calculation must therefore be correct.

Acceptance of a claim and correct valuation of a claim are two separate issues. An underpaid claim can sometimes be every bit as damaging as a rejected one.

3. “My insurance claim is taking far too long”

Another common complaint begins with a sentence we hear all too often: “Nothing seems to be happening.”

One month becomes three. Three months become six. Another assessor is appointed. Another document is requested. Someone is apparently waiting for someone else. Calls are not returned and updates become increasingly vague.

Meanwhile, the policyholder may be unable to repair a home, replace a vehicle, reopen a business or simply move on.

Not every delay is unreasonable. Complex claims can genuinely require investigation. But complexity should not become an excuse for inactivity.

How to challenge it

Create a chronology. Record when the claim was submitted, when information was requested, when you provided it, when inspections took place, what reports were commissioned and what explanations have been given for delays.

Then ask a very simple question: what exactly is preventing this claim from progressing?

• If information is said to be outstanding, identify precisely what is missing.
• If an expert report is awaited, establish when it was commissioned and what remains outstanding.
• If no decision has been made, ask what further issue genuinely needs to be resolved before one can be made.
• If the claim has stalled between different parties, identify who currently has responsibility for the next step.

Turning months of correspondence into a clear timeline can expose periods where very little has happened and make it much easier to challenge the delay in a focused way.

4. “The insurer is relying on an exclusion or technicality”

Insurance disputes frequently come down to a few words within a policy.

“Wear and tear.” “Gradual deterioration.” “Pre-existing damage.” “Failure to take reasonable precautions.” “Late notification.” “Non-disclosure.” “Lack of maintenance.”

These phrases can have enormous financial consequences. But the existence of an exclusion or condition does not automatically mean it correctly applies to the circumstances of your claim.

There may be arguments over what caused the loss, when damage occurred, whether the insurer has established the relevant facts, whether a policy condition has actually been breached and whether that issue genuinely justifies rejecting or reducing the claim.

How to challenge it

Go back to first principles. What exactly must the insurer establish for the exclusion or condition to apply? Then ask whether the evidence actually establishes it.

An expert report containing words such as “likely”, “possibly” or “consistent with” may not necessarily answer every issue that needs to be determined. Equally, there may be competing explanations for the loss.

This is why expert evidence, photographs, historic records, maintenance records, correspondence and the precise wording of the policy can become crucial.

5. “The insurer isn't properly listening to my complaint”

By this stage, many policyholders are exhausted. They have sent emails, made telephone calls, provided documents, repeated the same explanation and received what appears to be another version of the insurer's previous position.

This is where an insurance complaint needs to change from an argument into a structured dispute.

Simply sending increasingly frustrated emails rarely improves the evidence or the strength of the challenge. A serious dispute needs to identify what the insurer has decided, why that decision may be wrong, what evidence supports the alternative position and what outcome is being sought.

How to overcome it

• Stop repeating the entire history every time you communicate.
• Identify the disputed issues.
• Separate fact from opinion.
• Organise the evidence.
• Analyse the policy wording.
• Challenge the insurer's reasoning point by point.
• Quantify the loss where the dispute concerns money.
• Determine the strongest route towards resolution.

That route could involve further representations to the insurer, additional expert evidence, structured negotiation, challenging the interpretation of the policy or, where appropriate, considering legal action.

There is no single route that is right for every insurance dispute. The important thing is to understand the strength of the case before deciding what to do next.

Before you accept the insurer's decision, have the claim properly reviewed

Insurance disputes are rarely resolved simply by sending the insurer the same argument again and hoping for a different answer.

A stronger approach is to step back and examine the dispute as a whole. That means reviewing the policy wording, chronology, correspondence, insurer's reasoning, expert evidence, exclusions being relied upon, valuation of the loss and the options available for challenging or resolving the dispute.

At Insurance Dispute Service, we review rejected, underpaid, delayed and problematic insurance claims for individuals and businesses.

Our approach is to look beyond the latest letter from the insurer and understand the dispute in its entirety. We look at what the insurer has said, the evidence behind it, the policy wording and whether there may be a stronger route forward.

What should you send us for a wider review?

The more complete the information, the more thoroughly the dispute can be understood. Depending on the claim, useful material may include:

• your policy schedule and full policy wording;
• the insurer's rejection, settlement or complaint decision;
• correspondence with the insurer, loss adjuster or claims handler;
• expert, surveyor, engineer or medical reports;
• photographs, estimates, invoices and quotations;
• claim forms and other claim documentation;
• calculations showing how a settlement figure was reached; and
• anything else that may help establish the chronology or the loss.

If you are unsure whether a document matters, it is often better to include it and allow the relevance to be assessed as part of the review.

Important information

You can raise a complaint with your insurer directly without using Insurance Dispute Service or another representative. Our service is optional. Any appropriate route depends on the policy, evidence, value and circumstances of the individual dispute.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources and further reading

• Financial Conduct Authority Handbook: ICOBS 8 — Claims handling
• Financial Conduct Authority: home and travel claims handling — good practice and areas for improvement
• Financial Conduct Authority: General insurance value measures data 2025

This article provides general information, not legal advice. Every insurance claim depends on its individual circumstances, evidence, policy wording, eligibility and relevant deadlines.