"Where we identified the charter’s criteria was not being met, we worked with insurers to ensure improvements were made for claimants and intermediaries so that as many as possible met the charter’s requirements."
- Neil McCarthy, PDG chair
Established in 2016, PDG was established in 2016 with the aim of encouraging better outcomes for consumers through insurers and intermediaries. To date, PDG has launched several initiatives including the Funeral Payment Pledge and Claims Charter.
The Claims Charter was introduced in 2018 to encourage better outcomes for claimants by improving basic levels of Best Practice undertaken by insurers. The become a signatory, firms must meet the Charter’s criteria.
Current signatories include Assured Futures, Essential Insurance, Future Proof, Highclere, LifeSearch, London & Country, Premier Choice, and Vita.
The latest signatories are Aegon, AIG, British Friendly, Guardian, Holloway, HSBC Life, Legal & General, LV=, MetLife, Scottish Widows, Shepherds Friendly, The Exeter, Vitality, and Zurich.
Neil McCarthy, PDG chair has said:
“There is no doubt the past two years have been challenging for insurers, particularly with regard to claims handling. But we felt the time was right to review claims practices across the industry to ensure we are maintaining the standards we have currently identified as being best practice.
“There was a sense among the group's members that claims standards had slipped during the pandemic, and that there was, therefore, a need to investigate this to ensure the robustness of the Charter.
“It is our very real hope that those insurers who are not current signatories will work towards meeting the criteria and we look forward to welcoming further signatories in the future.”
