“Little expertise” and lack of “intelligent questioning” queried

Retiring Ombudsman Walter Merricks has said ambulances-chasing claims firms take claimants money and offer “little expertise", the Herald reports.

Merricks said: "Consumers are giving up a slice of compensation in return for having been contacted. Quite a lot of the time it is not in return for a great deal of expertise.

"The business model for many of them is to put most of their effort into recruiting new customers, with very little effort into intelligent questioning of whether somebody has a valid complaint.

"I am not sure the FSA or Treasury or Ministry of Justice who regulate these people have articulated what function might be expected of claims management companies in a well-functioning market."

The 2025 Insurance Times Awards took place on the evening of Wednesday 3rd December in the iconic Great Room of London’s Grosvenor House.

Hosted by comedian and actor Tom Allen, 34 Gold, 23 Silver and 22 Bronze awards were handed out across an amazing 34 categories recognising brilliance and innovation right across the breadth of UK general insurance.
Many congratulations to all the worthy winners and as always, huge thanks to our sponsors for their support and our judges for their expertise.

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