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Complaints Handling Procedures - Corporate Risk Services

RBIG is required by the Financial Conduct Authority; to have in place and operate appropriate and effective complaints handling procedures for handling any expression of dissatisfaction from its clients, whether oral or written and whether justified or not, about its general insurance related activities.  These procedures must be written down.

Set out below are the procedures that we have put in place to ensure that complaints are handled fairly, consistently and promptly, and resolved at the earliest possible opportunity.  Our objective is to resolve complaints internally, whenever possible, in order to minimise the number of cases where our clients need to refer the issue to a higher dispute resolution authority.

How to complain

If you should have any complaint we would ask you to make your complaint to Geoff Gregory, Commercial Director, at the following address:

1 Cranberry Drive
Denton
Manchester
M34 3UL

You may make your complaint at any time and by any reasonable means (for example by letter, telephone, e-mail or in person) although we would prefer you to contact us in writing, detailing the precise nature of your complaint, so that there can be no misunderstanding.

How we will investigate your complaint

Geoff Gregory, Commercial Director, will record your complaint.  The complaint will then be handled either by Geoff Gregory or, where appropriate, by a member of staff of sufficient competence who was not directly involved in the matter which is the subject of your complaint.

We will handle your complaint competently, diligently and impartially.

The person handling the investigation will have authority to settle complaints them self (including the offering of redress where appropriate) or have ready access to someone who has that authority.

How we will respond to your complaint

On receiving your complaint we will send prompt written acknowledgement (usually within five business days) giving you the name and job title of the person who will be carrying out the investigation and detailing when you can expect to receive a response.

We will keep you informed on any progress made with the complaint and the measures being taken to resolve the matter.

Within eight weeks of receiving your complaint we will provide you with a written final response informing you of the outcome of our investigation.  This letter will detail the nature and terms of any offer of compensation which we may consider appropriate or, alternatively, our reasons for rejecting the complaint.  At this time we will also inform you that if you are dissatisfied with our final response, you may refer your complaint to an Approved Dispute Resolution Facility.

Approved Dispute Resolution Facilities

Eligible Complainant                             The Financial Ombudsman Service (see definition below)

The Financial Ombudsman Service’s explanatory leaflet will be enclosed with our communication. Further information can be obtained from their website http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk

Non-Eligible Complainant:                     Insurance companies use various Dispute Resolution Facilities and we will provide you with full details of the appropriate body with our final response.

If the alleged complaint is not the firm’s fault and may be attributed to the actions of another firm either wholly or partially then we may forward the complaint or the relevant part of the complaint to the other firm.

We will :-

  1. Forward the complaint promptly
  2. Inform you promptly in a final response of why the complaint has been forward and the contact details of the firm now dealing with the complaint.
  3. Where jointly responsible we will deal with the part of the complaint that has not been forwarded in line with our complaints handling procedures.

Definitions:

An eligible complaint  is:  Any expression of dissatisfaction whether oral or written, and whether justified or not, from or on behalf of an eligible complainant about the firm’s provision of or failure to provide a financial service which alleges the complainant has suffered or may suffer financial loss, material distress or material inconvenience.

An eligible complainant  must be a person that is a:-

  1. Private individual / consumer or
  2. Micro enterprise
  3. Charity which has an annual income of less than £6,500,000 at the time the complainant refers the complaint to the firm
  4. Trustee which has a net asset value of less than £5,000,000 at the time the complainant refers the complaint to the firm.
  5. Consumer Buy-to-let consumer or
  6. small business at the time the complainant refers the complaint to the firm. To be a Small business the firm must fall below the following turnover threshold and either the balance sheet OR headcount threshold:-
    1. annual turnover of £6,500,000
    2. Annual Balance sheet total of £5,000,000 or
    3. Headcount of 50 people
  7. A guarantor only to the extent that the complaint arises from matters relevant to the relationship with the firm

A person is an eligible complainant  if they have a complaint which arises from matters relevant to one of more of the following relationships with the firm:-

  • A potential customer, current customer or a past customer of the firm and
  • They are a person for whom the benefit a contract of insurance was taken out or intended to be taken out
    with or through the firm or
  • They are a person on whom the legal right to benefit from a claim against the firm under a contract of
    insurance has been devolved by contract, assignment, subrogation or legislation or
  • They are a person from whom the respondent has sought to recover payment under a credit agreement
    whether or not the firm is a party to the agreement or
  • They are a person in relation to whom the firm has sought to perform duties or exercise or enforce rights on
    behalf of the creditor or owner under a credit agreement in carrying on debt administration.