Aviva was the subject of a total 1,505 complaints at the Financial Ombudsman Service (Fos) in the second half of last year.
According to the Fos complaints data published today (April 13), Aviva’s complaints figures were split into three: Aviva Equity Release UK, Aviva Insurance Limited and Aviva Life & Pensions.
The data, which was from July 2021 to December 2021, saw Aviva Insurance Limited receive a total of 928 new cases, of which 873 were for general insurance and pure protection, followed by payment protection insurance (42) and decumulation life and pensions (11).
From these new cases, 25 per cent were upheld, with six proactively resolved.
Aviva Life & Pensions had a total of 539 of which more than half (321) were with decumulation and pensions, followed by general insurance (131), investments (51) and mortgages and home finance (35).
From the total, 20 per cent were upheld and within decumulation and pensions this was 23 per cent, investments was 22 per cent and general insurance was 15 per cent.
Of Aviva Equity Release’s total 38 new cases, none of these were upheld.
An Aviva spokesperson said: “Aviva takes complaints about its customer service very seriously and we are committed to providing an excellent service for all our customers. Where we fail to meet customers’ expectations, our first priority is to resolve the matter as quickly as possible and to act on the feedback we receive.
"Although we aim for no complaints, the ones we get represent just 1.35 per 1,000 life policies in the UK.”
Aviva was followed by life and pensions consolidator ReAssure, which was also the subject of hundreds of complaints at the Fos in 2020.
ReAssure was the subject of 419 new complaints, with the bulk of these in decumulation life and pensions (326), investments (51) and general insurance (37).
Of these new cases, 19 per cent were upheld with four proactively resolved. An average 21 per cent of cases were upheld in decumulation life and pensions and 19 per cent in investments.
At the time, a spokesperson for the FCA told FTAdviser it is currently in talks with ReAssure over the claims and it expects all firms to treat customers fairly.
They said: “We are engaging with the firm to understand the reported issues facing customers of ReAssure. Firms must comply with our rules and principles and where they do not, we will take action.”
Meanwhile, Scottish Widows had a total of 302 new cases with 19 per cent upheld.
A spokesperson for the firm said: “While the latest figures show the ombudsman continues to agree with over 80 per cent of our decisions, we are committed to getting it right first time, and working to deliver better outcomes for our customers.”
Liverpool Victoria, which was a combination of LV Financial Services Limited and LV Insurance Company, had a total of 233 new cases with 36 per cent upheld.
