How long should it take to get paid?

A question about : How long should it take to get paid?

Hi there

We recently lost our caravan due to fire which started in a neighbouring motorhome. We have made a claim through our own insurance company (E&L) and an amount has been agreed. I signed the relevant paperwork and they have acknowledged receipt and told me they will transfer the money by BACS ASAP.

That was 3 weeks ago, and a dozen phone calls later I am getting nowhere - I just get told they will do it when they get round to it!

Can anybody tell me what a reasonable amount of time would be before I get paid? I rang the ombudsman who told me 6 weeks before they are prepared to get involved. A friend of my wife who works in insurance says they must pay within 21 days...any help would be appreciated.

Thank you.

Best answers:

• Unless there is a time limit stated in your policy it looks like 6 weeks is acceptable to FOS.
  But keep on at them till the 6 weeks are up! (and after contacting FOS if they delay till then as the FOS won't get an immediate result)
• It'll vary by insurer and their processes. Back in my claims days it was done by cheque but once an amount had been agreed the advisor would key it and pass it to their manager who had to check it and authorise it. In theory that was a 5 minute job but the manager doesnt sit there waiting for payment requests to come in and so it may take a couple of days. Depending on the amount he may be able to do it or may have to check it but pass it up the line until it got to someone with an appropriate authority level.
  After it was approved a cheque was generated and returned to the file handler normally within 2 working days. One final set of checks and its stuck in an envelope and put in the post bag thats collected by RM or equiv in 1-2 days after the envelope's been franked.
  End to end our process was generally under a week but occasionally things went missing, somehow the letter or chq went into the normal post queue rather than being put on your desk to action. People went on holiday and others didnt bother picking it up etc. Often the chq to the PH was the final action on the case so the payment authorisation closed the file and so no diaries would come up to trigger the question of whats happened.
  Register a complaint, if you arent happy with their reply or they dont reply within 8 weeks you can then take it to the FOS.
• If they've already told you that they are in the process of transferring the money and it hasn't happened then I certainly think a complaint is in order, probably now. That way it'll be sooner when you're able to involve the FOS if that becomes necessary.
  An alternative might be to shame them into it if they have a Twitter or other social media presence.
• Thanks, I did email a complaint about a week ago to which I have had no reply so that may come in handy. I guess its just a matter of sitting tight a little while longer. Bit silly of them really as were getting another van and this has really put me off using them again...ever.