But number of cases found in favour of the customer is on the increase

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Complaints about general insurance products has fallen by more than a third over the last year, according to figures released today by the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).

The FOS received 53,173 general insurance complaints between October and December 2014, 37% less than the 84,732 received during the same period in 2013.

Payment protection insurance (PPI) was still the most complained about product, with 48,516 complaints, but this was down 39% on the previous year.

Excluding PPI, car and motorbike insurance was the most complained about general insurance product, receiving 1,532 complaints over the period – down 15% (see below).

FOS Complaints Figures

Despite this improvement in the number of complaints received, the proportion being upheld in favour of the customer has increased.

The FOS found in favour of the customer on 62% of general insurance cases over the final quarter of 2014, up from 48% for the same period in the previous year.

 This figure also compares poorly to other areas handled by the FOS, with the ombudsman finding in favour of the customer in 53% of cases across all areas of financial services.

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