Ombudsman told to be nicer to firms
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.JULIAN FARRAND, the Insurance Ombudsman who has upset some members of the industry by being 'too sympathetic' to customers, has been told he must try to improve his relationship with the companies that fund the Ombudsman scheme.
Dr Farrand has just been reappointed to his post for another two years. But it is understood that, while considering his reappointment, the council of the Ombudsman Bureau discussed concerns expressed by some insurance companies about Dr Farrand's approach. Some companies believe he is too favourable to complainants, even though last year he found in favour of insurance companies in two thirds of the cases he examined. This is a higher failure rate for the industry than under Dr Farrand's predecessor, James Haswell.
The council is understood to have asked Dr Farrand to give a high priority to 'liaison' with senior executives of the bureau's member companies in the next two years.
Dr Farrand would not comment on the circumstances surrounding his reappointment but said he looked forward 'enthusiastically' to furthering the work of the bureau.
David Garrett, assistant general manager (life) at Sun Life, one of the industry representatives on the bureau's council, said: 'In any organisation you are going to get differences of opinion. My view, and my influence on the council, has been directed at trying to ensure that where . . . Dr Farrand is going to find in favour of the policy holders, if the issue is a knife-edge one, the best result can be achieved if . . . the company feels good about the idea. They should feel good about the process that has happened.'
Barbara Saunders, chairman of the bureau's council, said: 'In any situation were one is appraising the performance of members of staff, and the Ombudsman is an employee of the bureau, one undertakes thorough discussions with the individual about their role . . . within the organisation.'
(Photograph omitted)
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments