The insurer does not comply with the law. What to do?
If the insurer underestimated our compensation for OSAGO or auto insurance or refused to pay, we can file a complaint, and if this does not help, complain to the Financial Ombudsman.
Auto insurance is often a source of dispute between customers and insurance companies. Many people, dissatisfied with compensation and treatment by insurers, turned to the insurance ombudsman. Recently, new rules for filing complaints came into force. On October 11, 2015, the Law “On Consideration of Complaints of Financial Market Entities and on the Financial Ombudsman” came into force, and in terms of out-of-court dispute resolution, the Law will come into force on January 1, 2016.
First you need to write a complaint
Now every insurer is obliged to inform the client at the stage of conclusion of the contract about the applicable procedure for filing a complaint. The injured party claiming damages under third party liability insurance should also receive information on how to file a complaint.
The insurer also has a deadline for considering a complaint and responding to it - this is 30 days, and in complex cases - 60 days. In case of non-compliance with this period, it is considered that the complaint has been considered in accordance with the will of the customer. Therefore, in practice, if we find that, for example, a company has unreasonably reduced third party liability insurance coverage by applying a depreciation deduction, and we file a complaint about this account, and the insurance company does not recognize this in time, they will have to pay us the amount we requested ;
They say: Jan Urban mixes with Lech
We may file a complaint in writing, electronically, by phone or in person. We can do this at any insurance company facility or agent.
The insurer must respond to the claim in writing. Any possible electronic form is allowed only at the request of the customer.
Complaints to the Financial Ombudsman
Only after we have exhausted the insurer complaint procedure can we file a complaint with the Financial Ombudsman. You can also apply to the Financial Ombudsman in a situation where the insurance company has not responded to the complaint within the prescribed period or has not taken the actions arising from the consideration of the complaint in accordance with the will of the client.
The Ombudsman has a duty to protect the interests of insurers' clients and victims, and one of his duties is to deal with complaints. At the same time, it has very specific powers in relation to handling complaints by insurance companies. Namely, it can impose fines up to 100 XNUMX. zł if they do not comply with the provisions on handling complaints.
From January, another important innovation for insurers' clients will come into force - insurance companies will have to participate in out-of-court dispute resolution without fail.
The new rules will definitely improve the position of the companies' clients. They should be felt, in particular, by victims who eliminate damage under OSAGO, since it is here that the most problems arise and it is these cases that are most often the subject of complaints to departments and courts.
