An insurance claim can take time for legitimate reasons. The insurer may need reports, repair estimates, medical evidence, accounts, police information or comments from another party. But “the claim is still under review” cannot explain months of inactivity on its own.

If your insurance claim is taking too long, the first task is to identify where progress has stopped. Is the insurer waiting for evidence? Has a loss adjuster failed to report? Is policy cover disputed? Or is the file simply passing between departments without a clear decision-maker?

How long should an insurance claim take?

There is no single settlement deadline covering every UK insurance claim. A straightforward stolen-item claim and a major fire, subsidence or business-interruption loss cannot reasonably follow the same timetable.

The time required will usually depend on:

• the complexity and value of the loss;
• whether the cause and policy cover are accepted;
• the number and quality of expert reports required;
• whether third parties or authorities hold important evidence;
• whether repairs must be designed, approved or monitored;
• the speed with which both sides provide requested information; and
• whether fraud, non-disclosure or another serious allegation is being investigated.

For most formal complaints, the insurer normally has up to eight weeks to issue its final response. That eight-week period concerns the complaint process. It does not mean every insurance claim must be settled within eight weeks, and it should not be treated as a reason to stop progressing the underlying claim.

Warning signs that a claim may be unreasonably delayed

A claim may require closer intervention where you repeatedly experience:

• long periods without a meaningful update;
• the same documents being requested more than once;
• unexplained changes of handler or loss adjuster;
• missed call-back, inspection or reporting dates;
• experts being instructed without a clear question or timetable;
• new objections being raised one after another rather than together;
• no explanation of what remains under investigation;
• accepted parts of a claim being held back while a separate issue is considered;
• silence about alternative accommodation, emergency works or an interim payment; or
• a “final review” that never reaches a decision.

Delay is not established merely because a claim feels slow. The strongest evidence is usually a chronology showing avoidable gaps, repeated failures and their consequences.

Ask the insurer five precise questions

Instead of asking only for another update, request written answers to five focused questions:

This approach moves the insurer from a vague status update towards an accountable action plan. If the insurer cannot say what remains outstanding, that may itself help demonstrate why the handling requires escalation.

Build a delay chronology

Create a table or simple timeline recording:

• the incident date and claim-notification date;
• every document supplied and when it was sent;
• inspections and expert appointments;
• promises, target dates and missed deadlines;
• each request for an update;
• periods with no apparent activity;
• offers, partial payments or decisions; and
• the effect on your home, health, vehicle, finances or business.

Attach evidence rather than relying on memory. Keep emails, portal messages, letters, telephone notes, photographs and invoices. If important conversations took place by telephone, ask whether relevant call recordings or transcripts can be supplied.

The chronology should also show that you responded reasonably. If information was supplied late or an inspection could not take place, explain why. A balanced record is more credible than one that ignores delays on the policyholder’s side.

Record the financial and practical consequences

The effect of an insurer’s delay can be as important as its duration. Depending on the claim, preserve evidence of:

• additional alternative-accommodation costs;
• deterioration of damaged property;
• storage, hire, finance or security costs;
• interrupted trading or lost orders;
• professional fees incurred because action was not taken;
• distress, inconvenience or vulnerability known to the insurer; and
• urgent mitigation work that could not reasonably wait.

Should you obtain your own expert report?

An independent report can help unlock a stalled claim, but commissioning one too early or with an unclear brief can add cost without resolving the real issue.

First ask what question the insurer says remains unanswered. If the dispute concerns causation, repair method, reinstatement cost, valuation or business interruption, an appropriately qualified expert may be useful. The instructions should identify the relevant policy issue and the evidence the expert has considered.

Avoid asking an expert simply to “prove the insurer wrong”. A credible report should explain its methodology, limitations and reasons. Where practical, ask whether the insurer will agree the expert, scope or cost before work begins.

Request an interim payment or action on the undisputed part

Where the insurer accepts that at least part of the claim is covered, ask whether it can:

• make an interim payment;
• approve emergency or strip-out work;
• progress an agreed repair element;
• pay an undisputed invoice;
• confirm continuing alternative accommodation; or
• separate the accepted loss from the point still under investigation.

Whether any of these steps is appropriate depends on the policy and evidence. Nevertheless, asking the question can expose whether the whole file is being held unnecessarily because of one disputed issue.

Make a formal complaint about the delay

If ordinary chasing has not produced progress, make a formal complaint. Mark it clearly as a complaint and include:

• the claim number and date notified;
• a concise chronology;
• the actions or periods of inactivity being challenged;
• documents already supplied;
• the financial and practical impact;
• specific steps and dates now required; and
• any request for an interim payment, reimbursement, interest or compensation.

Avoid sending hundreds of pages without a guide. Number the important documents and briefly explain what each one proves. For most insurance complaints, the insurer normally has up to eight weeks to provide its final response.

Can the Financial Ombudsman help with a delayed claim?

The Financial Ombudsman Service can consider complaints about insurer delay and poor claims handling where the complainant and policy fall within its jurisdiction. It may examine why the claim took as long as it did, what the insurer communicated and the consequences of the handling.

You can usually refer an eligible complaint after receiving the insurer’s final response or once eight weeks have passed without one. The usual referral deadline is six months from the date of a valid final response, although rules and exceptions can affect individual cases.

Delay does not automatically mean the underlying claim must be paid. Read more about preparing a Financial Ombudsman complaint and make the chronology, outstanding issues, evidence and requested remedy easy to follow.

When delay may require a different route

Some claims cannot safely wait for the ordinary complaint timetable. Prompt legal advice may be appropriate where:

• property or evidence is deteriorating;
• a business faces immediate cash-flow or continuity risk;
• a contractual or court limitation deadline may be approaching;
• injunctive or declaratory relief may be relevant; or
• the insurer’s inaction is causing harm that may not later be adequately repaired with money.

Possible routes can include senior negotiation, mediation, litigation, a solicitor or specialist barrister. Court proceedings involve cost and procedural risk. An Ombudsman complaint should not be assumed to pause a court limitation period.

How Insurance Dispute Service may help

Insurance Dispute Service can examine the chronology, outstanding requests, expert reports and insurer communications to identify what appears to be holding the claim up and whether a more structured escalation is appropriate.

Send us the policy, claim correspondence, a dated timeline and evidence of the consequences. You can start a free claim review or read more about our support for delayed and stalled insurance claims.

We cannot promise a settlement date or guarantee that the insurer will change its position. Our role is to help identify the real blockage and the strongest proportionate route available on the evidence.

Your free complaint options

You do not need to use a claims management company to complain to your insurer. You can complain yourself for free. If eligible, you can also refer an unresolved complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service yourself for free.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources and further reading

• Financial Ombudsman Service: complaint time limits
• Financial Ombudsman Service: home and buildings insurance complaints
• Financial Conduct Authority: how to complain

This article provides general information, not legal advice. Claim timescales, complaint eligibility and limitation depend on the policy and individual circumstances.