They said this… · Insurance

“A broker sold the policy, so the insurer cannot consider your complaint.”

Misleading without context

The broker and insurer may be responsible for different acts, but an insurer cannot dismiss a complaint about its own underwriting, claims handling or policy administration merely because a broker arranged the sale.

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Why this answer

What actually matters

  • Identify who made each disputed statement or decision.
  • Send the complaint to both firms if responsibilities overlap.
  • Ask each for a final response on its own conduct.
  • FOS can often consider connected regulated complaints.

Important nuance

When the statement may have a point

  • Advice or disclosure failures may primarily belong to the broker.
  • The insurer need not answer for conduct it did not carry out or adopt.

What you could say

Keep the response tied to the actual rule.

Evidence

What to have beside you

  • Policy schedule, wording and pre-contract questions
  • Claim form, chronology and supporting evidence
  • Expert reports, valuations, photographs and repair estimates
  • Insurer or broker final response

If they still refuse

Move the dispute forward.

  1. Ask the firm to identify the precise policy term, evidence and regulatory basis for its position.
  2. Challenge the reasoning and calculation separately where both coverage and amount are disputed.
  3. Escalate an eligible unresolved complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service within the applicable time limit.

Read the full rules

Go deeper before escalating.

Primary guideRead the detailed ConsumerWise guidance.InsuranceRead the full guide.Rejected insurance claimsRead the full guide.Insurance complaints and FOSRead the full guide.

Official sources

Check the rules behind this statement.

Insurance: Conduct of Business sourcebookFinancial Conduct Authority · checked 19 Sep 2026Consumer Insurance (Disclosure and Representations) Act 2012legislation.gov.uk · checked 19 Sep 2026