More complaints about health insurance | Money

In 2019, nearly 170,000 complaints were received by a total of 176 providers about all health, non-life and life insurance policies, according to a survey by the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM). That is 6% more than in 2018.

More than half of the complaints, almost 86,000, concerned health insurance, the largest market segment in terms of premium size and number of policies. Basic insurance in particular was a source of dissatisfaction with 61,000 grievances.

Policyholders are more satisfied with non-life and life insurance in 2019 than in the previous year. Complaints were also 15% more frequent in 2019 about motor insurance, while complaints about ‘other non-life insurance’, such as telephone and white goods insurance, decreased by 17%.

Complaints handling

The AFM also inquired with the insurers about the duration of the handling of the complaints. On average, this happens in fourteen days. Objections about the annuity insurance (death risk) take the most time, on average 35 days. Complaints about travel insurance are resolved the fastest, on average within nine days.

The complaints report, which was compiled for the second time in 2019, helps to make insurance market supervision more efficient and effective, says AFM watchdog. The report says nothing about whether the complaint was justified and how it was handled.

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