The Association of British Insurers has claimed that its Code of Practice has led to fewer critical illness policyholders having their claims turned down.
Critical illness cover customers are receiving a better service thanks to a Code of Practice formulated by the Association of British Insurers (ABI), the organisation has indicated.
The Financial Ombudsman Service - which mediates in disputes between the public and financial services firms - has released figures detailing the number and type of complaints it has received over the last year. While a number of areas saw more consumer complaints this year, with a larger proportion being found in favour of the complainant than in the past, the ABI deemed the report a success for the critical illness industry.
The statistics show that the Ombudsman received fewer complaints about critical illness and of those it did receive, the insurer was found to be acting fairly in a larger number of cases.
Nick Starling, director of general insurance and health at the ABI, said that this trend was a "direct result" of the Code of Practice. "The code looks at the way claims are dealt with where people failed to tell their insurer about a relevant piece of information when they applied for their policy," he explained.
"This is good news for consumers," Mr Starling added. "It means people can be confident that when they buy a critical illness policy, they know it will pay out if it is needed."
