The Insurance Ombudsman’s Annual Report for 2022: Increasing Litigation and the Need for Policyholder Satisfaction

Insurance Mediation offers a free system to resolve conflicts between consumers, insurers and their intermediaries in an amicable manner. The Ombudsman’s annual report presents a summary of disputes resolved in 2022.

Annual report of the Insurance Ombudsman for 2022

The Insurance Ombudsman’s annual report for 2022 indicates an increase of more than 9% in disputes. This increase is linked to the difficulties of insurers in coping with the reform of the processing of claims, as well as to a feeling of persistent mistrust among many policyholders vis-à-vis their insurer or the expert who intervenes to assess their sinister.

An increase in referrals

In 2022, the Mediation received 21,502 referrals, an increase of 9.2% compared to 2021 and almost 50% over the last three years. This increase is worrying and must be taken into account by insurers. Policyholders need to be reassured and supported in the management of their claims. The reform of claims processing, which allows policyholders to contact the Mediator two months after expressing their dissatisfaction in writing with their insurer, has also contributed to the increase in referrals.

Insurance disputes

Litigation and liability represent the majority of referrals (62%), of which 31% relate to housing and 29% to cars. In personal insurance (38% of disputes), health insurance is the most important source of disputes (28% of cases), followed by borrower insurance and home or consumer loans (19%), life insurance (18%) and provident insurance contracts, guaranteeing death, invalidity or incapacity (15%).

The professionals most represented in admissible referrals are also those with a large market share: CNP, Aema, Covea, Generali, Groupama and Axa. Personal insurance, CNP (20%), Generali (8%) and Swisslife (7.7%) are the insurers with the highest number of admissible referrals. They are followed by Crédit Agricole (6.1%), and Axa (6%).

The satisfaction of the insured

Only 33.9% of referrals received are declared admissible. In 2022, the Mediation drafted 4,368 solution proposals. These were ruled in favor of the insured in only 31% of cases. The insured was satisfied in almost one out of two cases, taking into account the out-of-court settlements made by the insurers when they find that the Mediation has been referred to. The response time is 7 months on average and 30% of policyholders saw their file processed within 3 months.

Ignorance of economic and financial mechanisms

The Mediator notes through the files received the lack of knowledge among the French of the economic and financial mechanisms, and of the operation of a contract. Policyholders are regularly surprised by the reduction in the return on their life insurance products in euros, without making the link with the fall in interest rates. Others claim that they were not properly informed of the possible volatility of unit-linked supports, which are linked to the evolution of the financial markets. In provident insurance, some policyholders regret having taken out “lost funds” cover. During the health crisis, many policyholders did not understand why that of the automobile was not cheaper, since they had driven less or not during the confinement periods.

In conclusion, the increase in litigation is worrying and must be taken into account by insurers. It is important to reassure and support policyholders in the management of their claims, and to explain to them the economic and financial mechanisms linked to their contract. Insurance professionals must redouble their efforts to improve policyholder satisfaction and trust in their insurer.