Complaints

Our objective is to provide a high standard of service to you at all times. However, we recognise that things can sometimes go wrong.  When this occurs, we are committed to resolving matters reasonably, promptly and fairly. 

If you wish to make a complaint about our service, you can contact us in one of the following ways:

• Telephone:
  Call 0370 905 7896 between 09.00 and 17.00 Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays).
• Post:
  Write to the Compliance Officer, 2 Minster Court, Mincing Lane, London, EC3R 7BB
• E-mail:
  complaints@bishopsgateinsurance.co.uk

Please quote your policy number or the reference we have given you.  If we are unable to deal with your complaint immediately we will write to you within 2 working days of receipt and inform you who is dealing with the complaint and when you can next expect a response. We may also ask you for further details about your complaint where relevant.

If we believe the matter is the responsibility of another firm, either in whole or in part, we will refer your complaint to that firm (or the part of your complaint they are responsible for) and inform you of this in writing.  We will provide you with the other firm’s contact details, who will then assume responsibility for your complaint or their part of it (we will continue to deal with the part we are responsible for if applicable).

We aim to conclude our investigations promptly. However, in some circumstances our investigations may take some time, and we will keep you fully informed.  This means that we will write to you as soon as we have concluded our investigation and, in any event, within 8 weeks of receipt of your original complaint.  If, however, your complaint is sufficiently complicated to warrant longer investigation or for reasons outside of your control we have been unable to complete our investigation, we will write to you:

• Explaining the reasons for the delay and when you can expect to receive our final response; and
• Advising you of your right to take your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).

When we conclude your complaint, we will write to you giving you our “Final Response”.  This will tell you if we have upheld or rejected your complaint (in whole or in part), and, if appropriate, we will make an offer of redress. 

On receipt of our Final Response, or if your complaint remains unresolved after 8 weeks of initially telling us, you may be able to refer your complaint to the FOS if you are:

• a consumer (i.e. an individual buying insurance in a private capacity or if (at the time you refer your complaint to the Ombudsman); or
• a micro enterprise, (i.e. an enterprise which employs fewer than 10 and has a turnover or annual balance sheet that does not exceed €2 million. In this definition, “enterprise” means any engaged in an economic activity, irrespective of legal form and includes, in particular, self-employed and family businesses engaged in craft or other activities, and or associations regularly engaged in an economic activity); or
• a charity with an annual income of less than £1m; or
• the trustee of a trust with a net assets value of less than £1m.

Further details of the FOS can be obtained from www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk; 0800 023 4567