Letter to Complain About Insurer's Rejection or Delay of Claim

This letter can be used in the event that an insurer has unreasonably rejected a claim, or is delaying dealing with a claim.

The letter is designed to be sent to the insurer, warning them that the matter will soon be referred to the Financial Ombudsman Service. It enables the person sending the letter to set out the key facts in relation to the matter, and to request that the insurer present a reasonable settlement proposal.

For other insurance matters, we have a number of other letters available, including:

• "Letter to Reject Car Insurer's Offer"
• "Letter to Reject Insurer's Offer to Settle (General)"
• "Letter of Further Evidence After Insurer's Rejection of Claim".

How to use this document

Once the document has been completed, simply post it to the insurers, and wait for them to respond. If the insurers do not respond within 14 days it may be necessary to consider further action with the Financial Ombudsman Service, or legal action (such as in the small claims court).

The letter should be sent as soon as possible after the offer to be rejected was made but in any event, before commencing any action in court.

In order to prove that the letter was sent, the sender may wish to send it by registered post, or keep a receipt or other proof of posting.

Moreover, the sender may wish to obtain and enclose an independent valuation to support the claim for a higher valuation.

Applicable Law

The insurance relationship is subject to the principles of contract law and insurance law.

In Australia, general insurance law is affected by the Insurance Act 1973 (Commonwealth), the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Commonwealth) and the Corporations Act 2001 (Commonwealth).

The Australian Consumer Law which is contained in Schedule 2 of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Commonwealth) may also apply in some circumstances.

How to modify the template

You fill out a form. The document is created before your eyes as you respond to the questions.

At the end, you receive it in Word and PDF formats. You can modify it and reuse it.