What Is the Financial Ombudsman Service UK? Complete Guide

If you have been unable to resolve a dispute with your UK insurance company through their internal complaints process, the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) is your next step. It is the largest ombudsman scheme in the world, handling over 200,000 complaints per year, and it is completely free for consumers to use.

This guide explains everything you need to know about the FOS: what it does, what it can award, how the process works, how long it takes, and how to give your complaint the best chance of success.

What Is the Financial Ombudsman Service?

The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) is a statutory, independent body created under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA). It was established in 2001 and is funded by levies on financial firms.

All firms authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to provide financial services in the UK — including all insurance companies — must participate in the FOS scheme. Participation is a mandatory condition of FCA authorisation, not a voluntary arrangement.

The FOS resolves disputes between consumers and financial businesses. If it upholds a complaint, its decision is binding on the financial firm (if the consumer accepts it). It is not binding on the consumer — they can reject the FOS decision and still go to court.

What Types of Insurance Complaints Does the FOS Handle?

The FOS handles virtually all types of insurance disputes involving UK-regulated insurers:

Health and protection insurance:

• Private medical insurance (PMI) claims
• Life insurance death benefit disputes
• Critical illness claims
• Income protection and disability claims
• Payment protection insurance (though most legacy PPI complaints have concluded)

General insurance:

• Home and contents insurance
• Motor insurance (own car damage; the FOS doesn't handle liability disputes with third-party insurers directly)
• Travel insurance
• Pet insurance
• Business insurance (for eligible small businesses)

Financial products linked to insurance:

• Mortgage endowment policies
• Investment bonds with insurance elements

What the FOS cannot handle:

• Compulsory third party (CTP) motor liability — this has its own regulatory framework
• Employer's liability (EL) disputes between employers and their insurer are normally outside FOS jurisdiction
• Complaints from large businesses (above the eligible complainant thresholds)
• Matters that have been decided by a court
• Complaints where the FOS's 6-month time limit from the final response has passed

Who Can Use the FOS?

Any of the following can use the FOS:

• Individual consumers
• Sole traders and small partnerships
• Small businesses with fewer than 10 employees and an annual turnover below £2 million
• Charities with an annual income below £1 million
• Trustees of occupational pension schemes with fewer than 50 members

The 8-Week Rule and the 6-Month Limit

The 8-week rule: Before you can go to the FOS, you must give your insurer 8 weeks to resolve your complaint through their internal process. During this 8 weeks, the insurer should be investigating and responding.

The 6-month limit: Once the insurer issues a final response letter (which may come before 8 weeks), you have 6 months from the date of that final response to refer the complaint to the FOS. Missing this deadline is one of the most costly mistakes consumers make.

If 8 weeks pass without a final response, you can go to the FOS immediately.

How to Contact and File with the FOS

Online: financial-ombudsman.org.uk — the most efficient method, with online forms guiding you through the process.

By phone: 0800 023 4567 (free from UK landlines and mobiles) or 0300 123 9 123

By post: Financial Ombudsman Service, Exchange Tower, London, E14 9SR

By email: complaint.info@financial-ombudsman.org.uk

You will need to provide:

• Your personal details
• The name of the firm you're complaining about
• Your account/policy reference numbers
• A description of your complaint
• What outcome you want
• Copies of key documents (the insurer's final response letter is particularly important)

The FOS Process: Step by Step

Stage 1: Adjudicator Review

Every complaint is first assessed by an adjudicator — a FOS staff member who reviews all documents, contacts both you and the insurer for information, and forms a view on the complaint.

The adjudicator may:

• Ask for additional information or documents
• Discuss the case with both parties by phone or in writing
• Issue a preliminary view, inviting both sides to comment
• Issue a final adjudicator opinion

If both you and the insurer accept the adjudicator's opinion, the complaint is closed. This is the most common outcome.

Stage 2: Ombudsman Review

If either party disagrees with the adjudicator's opinion, the case can be escalated to a Financial Ombudsman — a senior decision maker.

The ombudsman reviews the entire case file and issues a formal final decision. This decision is:

• Binding on the financial firm (if the consumer accepts it)
• Not binding on the consumer (they can reject it and still go to court)
• The final step in the FOS process

Approximately 40% of complaints that go to ombudsman review are upheld in the consumer's favour (as at recent FOS data). At the adjudicator stage, the rate is similar — roughly 30-40% are upheld depending on complaint category.

What Can the FOS Award?

The FOS can:

Require the insurer to:

• Pay a claim they wrongly denied
• Change a decision
• Provide information or documents
• Reverse a cancellation

Award compensation:

• The full value of a valid claim
• Interest on delayed payments
• Consequential losses caused by the denial
• Compensation for distress and inconvenience — the FOS has an established practice of awarding between £100 and £750 for poor complaint handling, and can go significantly higher for severe cases of distress or hardship
• Up to £430,000 for complaints referred after April 2024 (indexed limit)

The FOS cannot:

• Award punitive damages
• Tell an insurer how to run its business
• Investigate a firm's general conduct (this is FCA's role)

How Long Does the FOS Take?

FOS processing times vary considerably. Based on 2024-25 published data:

• Simple complaints: 3 to 6 months
• More complex cases: 6 to 12 months
• Very complex cases (involving medical evidence, large sums, or disputed facts): 12 to 18 months or longer

The FOS has significant backlogs in certain categories. Motor finance and some life insurance categories have experienced longer delays.

Urgent cases: The FOS has a process for fast-tracking complaints where there is financial hardship or a health emergency. Ask about this explicitly when you file if it applies.

FOS Complaint Categories and Success Rates

Not all complaint types are upheld at the same rate. Published FOS data (2023-24) shows variation by product:

• Payment protection insurance: Historically very high uphold rates (largely concluded)
• Buildings and contents insurance: Approximately 30-35% uphold rate
• Motor insurance: Approximately 25-35% uphold rate
• Life/protection insurance: Approximately 25-35% uphold rate
• Travel insurance: Approximately 30-40% uphold rate

The 30-40% overall uphold rate means a significant number of FOS-referred denials are overturned. It also means a significant number are not — which is why the quality of your complaint preparation matters.

FCA Regulation and the Consumer Duty

The FOS does not operate in isolation from FCA regulation. FCA-regulated insurers must comply with:

Consumer Duty (PS22/9 / PRIN 12): Requires insurers to deliver good outcomes for retail customers, act in good faith, and avoid causing foreseeable harm. The Consumer Duty came into full effect in July 2023 and has influenced FOS decision-making — FOS adjudicators now explicitly consider whether insurers have met their Consumer Duty obligations.

ICOBS (Insurance: Conduct of Business Sourcebook): Sets specific rules for claims handling, including fair and prompt assessment of claims, clear communication of decisions, and transparency about appeals rights.

FOS adjudicators can and do uphold complaints where the denial was technically defensible under the policy but the insurer's overall conduct fell short of Consumer Duty standards.

Tips for a Successful FOS Complaint

Get the final response letter first: The FOS won't accept your complaint without it. Make sure you formally request it from the insurer if 8 weeks have passed.

Submit within 6 months: Don't let this deadline slip.

Be concise and factual: Write a clear chronological account. FOS adjudicators handle hundreds of cases — clear, factual complaints are easier to assess.

Attach the right documents: The insurer's final response letter, your original complaint, the denial letter, your policy, and all supporting evidence (medical records, receipts, photos, expert reports).

Reference Consumer Duty: If the insurer's handling was poor — delays, inadequate investigation, misleading communication — explicitly reference Consumer Duty in your complaint.

State a specific outcome: Don't just say "I want a fair result." Say "I want the insurer to pay my claim in full including £X for the costs I incurred during the delay."

Don't misrepresent facts: Ombudsman investigators are experienced. Exaggerating or misrepresenting facts will damage your credibility.

After the FOS: What Next?

If the FOS upholds your complaint:

• The insurer must implement the decision within the stated timeframe (usually 28 days)
• If they don't, you can apply to the county court to enforce the FOS award as a judgment

If the FOS doesn't uphold your complaint:

• You can reject the FOS decision and still take the insurer to court
• The FOS decision is not admissible as evidence in court proceedings
• Consider legal advice from a solicitor specialising in insurance disputes before pursuing litigation

Getting Help

ClaimBack (claimback.app) generates professional UK insurance appeal letters and FOS-ready complaint summaries tailored to your specific dispute. The tool is free, incorporates the relevant FCA Consumer Duty references and ICOBS provisions, and helps you frame the strongest possible case before you file with the FOS — or ideally, to resolve the matter at the internal complaint stage without needing FOS at all.

Summary

• The FOS is the UK's statutory, free dispute resolution scheme for insurance and financial services
• All FCA-authorised insurers must participate
• Use it after 8 weeks if the insurer hasn't resolved your complaint, or after receiving an unsatisfactory final response
• File within 6 months of the final response letter — this is a hard deadline
• Awards up to £430,000 plus distress and inconvenience compensation
• Roughly 30-40% of insurance complaints are upheld — the quality of your case matters
• File at financial-ombudsman.org.uk or call 0800 023 4567 — free