Insurance | HS compared complaints made about insurance companies: One company’s figures are particularly grim

Insurance company During the last three years, Fennia has been clearly overrepresented in consumer complaints. Insurance and financial advice According to Fine’s statistics, Fennia’s decisions on non-life insurance claims have been processed at Fine significantly more often than the decisions of other large companies.

In the case of Fennia, the solutions of Fine and the insurance board have ended up in the consumer’s position more often than other companies. It means that the company has been recommended to pay compensation to the customer.

According to statistics from the financial industry, Fennia’s market share in the non-life insurance industry was 9.2 percent last year. However, in the years 2021–2023, its share of Fine’s solutions for the insurance industry was 17.9 percent, i.e. almost double compared to its market share.

The share of the three largest companies in Fine’s solutions was considerably smaller than their market share. The three largest companies in the non-life insurance industry are OP Group’s Pohjola, Lähi-Tapiola and If.

Solutions the amount has been examined over a three-year period, because the amounts vary considerably from year to year for all companies. Some companies have, for example, terminated an entire unprofitable insurance portfolio at once. Such a decision could have spawned a flurry of complaints and solutions.

The greater part all customer complaints are resolved in Fine’s favor, i.e. according to Fine, the insurance company’s decision was in accordance with good insurance practice.

Only about a fifth of the solutions turn to the consumer’s advantage.

Fine gives advice and resolves consumer disputes concerning the banking, insurance and investment industries. Some of the solutions are given in Fine without a board hearing.

The operations are financed by the companies in the field, but the consumer authorities play a big role in the administration and the decision-making boards. The members also include representatives of ministries and consumer organizations.

The threshold for complaints to Fine is quite low, because Fine handles complaints for the consumer free of charge.

We also help in making a complaint, and it does not have to be a text prepared by a lawyer. However, before the appeal ends up being processed by the board, the issues must be agreed with the company. Fine’s decisions are recommendations, but they are almost always followed.

Damage insurance regarding solutions, Fennia also stands out from the three largest companies in that complaints have relatively more often ended up favorably for the customer.

In almost 23 percent of the solutions concerning Fennia, the company has been recommended to pay compensation. The ratio is 17 for the largest insurance company, Pohjola insurance, which is part of the OP group.

Fennia’s figures from last year are particularly gloomy. Out of 103 decisions concerning the company, 37 recommended that the company pay compensation to the customer. The share was also relatively high the previous year, 22 percent.

All in all, in the light of the statistics, it would seem that for some reason Fennia has made more insurance decisions in recent years than other companies that needed to be corrected.

Director of Fennia’s claims services Sanna Elg says that the company is aware of the figures.

“As you said, they vary from year to year. When these results come out every year, we of course go through them ourselves. In our view, this falls under the scope of annual variation,” he says.

According to Elgi, last year’s high numbers are not related to any individual type of insurance or type of contract, but a general trend can be seen in the cases: disputes have increased especially in medical, accident and home insurance.

“Medical expense insurances can be unclear about the fact that not all treatment, medicines or examinations prescribed by a doctor are necessarily reimbursed. We thought about how we could clarify customer information and operating methods,” says Elg.

Fine according to the annual report, disputes regarding treatment practices in particular have increased in general. It is related to the growth of medical insurance and the ambiguity of the terms.

Medical expenses insurance usually only compensates for treatment according to the so-called general treatment practice. Its definition is not quite clear-cut.

HS compared in June the conditions of health insurance and found that there were large differences in the scope of the treatment they reimbursed, as well as in the price. In general, it was almost impossible to compare the conditions.

In home insurance disputes often arise over water and leak damage, and what share of possible construction defects is in causing the damage. In fire insurance, there is an argument about the impact of the customer’s actions on the fire.

According to Fine, there are arguments in animal insurance about “hidden defects” in pets.

But these trends apply to the entire industry. What would explain the fact that Fennia’s decisions are complained about so much more often than other companies? Elgi does not have a direct answer to this.

“Of course, in the future we will pay attention to the clarity of customer information and insurance terms, but it is difficult to describe all possible life events in them,” says Elg.

According to Elgi, Fennia has followed the recommendations of Fine’s solutions 100 percent.

“On the basis of these recommendations, we will also change the compensation policy and principles in similar cases if there is a need.”