Home insurance claim stuck? Delay is the complaint insurers lose most

Complain sooner than feels polite if your home insurance claim has stalled. In my view, waiting quietly for the next promised call is the weaker strategy, and the ombudsman’s own numbers back that up.

The first belief to drop is that delays simply come with a big claim. Under the FCA’s insurance conduct rules, an insurer must handle claims promptly and fairly and keep you informed of progress. A large job does not make a slow one acceptable.

Then there is the idea that the ombudsman always backs the insurer. Data obtained by Which? under freedom of information shows the Financial Ombudsman Service upheld 54 per cent of buildings insurance complaints about claim delays in the year to March 2026. Across all buildings complaints the uphold rate was 38 per cent. Delay is where insurers most often lose.

A claim that drags on for months is worth a formal complaint, and you should make it well before you feel desperate.

Some people assume they can go straight to the ombudsman. You cannot. The Financial Ombudsman Service explains that a business usually has up to eight weeks to consider your complaint first, and you can bring it to the ombudsman once it has sent a final response or that time has run out. That is exactly why I would start the clock early.

The last belief is the one I would push back on hardest: that taking cash ends the problem. Which? warns that once you accept a cash settlement for building work, it is hard to get a top-up if costs spiral. Settle in cash only when you have a builder’s quote you trust.

One practical tip. From the first week, keep a dated note of every call, email and missed appointment, and send it with your complaint.