My mother, who died last year, took out a whole of life decreasing term assurance policy with Clerical Medical in 1993, worth £195,000, and held in trust for her three children. I’ve had no response from the company since submitting the claim four months ago. I was advised to make a complaint, but eight weeks later it has not even been allocated a claims handler. I have called repeatedly, always with a 30-60 minute waiting time to get through, and have been told variously that there is an IT issue, a technical issue, confusion about the claim, or simply that they don’t know. Clerical Medical seems either to be deliberately obstructing or just ignoring the claim.
LG, London
Clerical Medical, part of the Lloyds Banking Group, boasts of a “consistent, dependable” service on its website. Online reviews bear this out. Its service, according to reports, is consistently and dependably dire. On review website Trustpilot, it’s rated one star for the same reasons you cite – indefinite waiting times both for calls to be answered and policies paid out.
Clerical Medical told me it has listened to customer concerns, increased call centre staff and invested in training. It’s enraging the company managed to resolve your claim within two days after a prod from the press. It has paid the assurance policy, and a separate bond held by your mother, plus compensation. It blamed a failure to log your claim properly, which is concerning since you submitted it online and by post.
Email your.problems@observer.co.uk. Include an address and phone number. Submission and publication are subject to our terms and conditions
