Treasury Committee publishes insurance company letters

The Treasury Committee wrote to Admiral, Axa, Scottish Widows and Aviva asking questions designed mainly to establish whether they are treating customers fairly. Each insurer was asked specific questions which they had agreed to follow up on after appearing in front of the Committee in July. The questions included:

• what insurers do if a policyholder misses a payment and then makes a claim;
• whether the insurers have processes to identify vulnerable customers and how they justify charging higher premiums for monthly payments with their obligations under the Consumer Duty;
• when insurers stop charging consumers who have had cancer a higher amount for travel insurance;
• how travel insurance treats customers who travel with existing conditions;
• whether flood insurance policies using the word “sudden” would decline claims on the basis floods were not sudden;
• whether home addresses are considered when pricing life insurance and, if so, how;
• whether taking anti-depressants affects the cost of travel insurance;
• for life insurers, the proportion of pension funds invested in the UK;
• gender and ethnic breakdown of the insurer’s staff; and
• whether the company supports the non-financial misconduct proposals.