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If a customer has a complaint, the insurer must handle it according to a set procedure. The Association considers it very important that complaint handling in the sector is properly regulated. The responsibility for this lies with the insurer.

Better safe than sorry

Better safe than sorry. Insurers are doing everything they can. Among other things, with self-regulation and supervision of compliance with this by the independent Foundation for the Assessment of Insurers.

If prevention doesn't work

In that case, the insurer must handle the complaint according to the so-called 'internal complaints procedure'. If this is not done satisfactorily, the parties involved can go to the independent Financial Services Complaints Institute (Kifid) or the courts. According to the Financial Supervision Act , insurers must join the Kifid. Finally, there is the independent Disciplinary Board for Insurers , which can take disciplinary action against insurers.

Internal complaints procedure

If a consumer has a complaint about an insurer, both parties must first try to resolve it among themselves. In doing so, the insurer must comply with all kinds of rules and code of conduct:

  1. Anyone who has to deal with internal complaint handling should be familiar with the complaints procedure.
  2. The institution has an administration that contains the name and address details of the complainant, a description of the complaint and a description of how the complaint was handled.
  3. This data will be stored for at least one year after the complaint has been dealt with.

The Financial Services Complaints Institute (Kifid) has drawn up a code of conduct for the internal complaints procedure. For example, insurers must inform their customers about the procedure in advance. Furthermore, the customer must receive an acknowledgement of receipt of the complaint and be informed of the response period: six weeks for simple complaints and three months for complex complaints.

Disagree with the handling

If a customer does not agree with the insurer's handling of the complaint, he can do two things.

1. Submit the complaint to the Financial Services Complaints Institute (Kifid)

Within three months after the customer has been informed of the insurer's position, the complaint can be submitted to Kifid. Read more about the procedure and rules on the Kifid website.

2. Going to court

If a customer does not agree with the insurer's judgement, he can go to court. So he doesn't have to knock on Kifid's door first.

Important to know: if a customer goes to court immediately, he can no longer go to Kifid after a court ruling. This is because Kifid is not allowed to deal with complaints that have already been dealt with by the court. Read more about the case law.

Disciplinary Board Insurers

We are mainly familiar with disciplinary law from the medical field and the legal profession. However, disciplinary law has also been in place within the insurance industry for decades. In 2008, the insurance industry established the Disciplinary Board for Insurers (formerly the Financial Services Disciplinary Board). Disciplinary law is aimed at ensuring a proper level of professional practice, while the aforementioned Kifid deals with dispute resolution (right of complaint). The Disciplinary Board therefore supervises the conduct of the insurer.

The Disciplinary Board is independent. Would you like more information or view the judgements? Then visit the website of the Disciplinary Board.