Finding a farm insurer or broker you can trust

A claim that goes quiet is one of the harder things to deal with after a bad year on the farm. You have already had the fire, the flood, or the dead stock to deal with, and now the insurer has stopped answering. Knowing what an authorised firm is required to do gives you something firmer to point to than a phone call that never gets returned.

Handling the claim itself

Insurers regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority must handle claims promptly, fairly, and without imposing unreasonable barriers. That covers things like asking for the same document three times, or sitting on a straightforward loss adjuster's report for months without explanation. If your grain store has burned down and the insurer is dragging its feet for no stated reason, that expectation is worth raising directly with them, in writing.

The eight-week response

If matters move to a formal complaint, the insurer has eight weeks to issue a final response, or to explain why it needs longer. That deadline exists precisely so a farmer is not left waiting indefinitely while cashflow depends on the payout. Once that window passes without a response or a reasonable explanation, you have grounds to take the complaint further.

Taking it to the Financial Ombudsman Service

Where the insurer's final response does not settle things, the Financial Ombudsman Service can look at the complaint independently. Once you accept its decision, that decision is binding on the firm. That is what turns a complaint from a request into something the insurer has to act on.

Our claims and dispute guidance sets out how to build a complaint that uses these protections properly, and our guide to farm insurance claims and your rights goes through what to do when a claim is disputed or refused from the start.