First Underwriting Limited Avis 40

A slow drip from a concealed pipe upstairs caused damage to the bathroom floor and ceiling and cupboards downstairs. Assessor came very quickly and offered me a cash settlement which turned out to be much less than I could get the job done for. After several calls and notes with the Claims Consortium (CC) who were handling the claim, it was discovered that the assessor had said I wanted to DIY the job myself which I am not capable of and would never have requested. Hence the low settlement offer. I then found out CC would take over the job and arrange repair. Phew what a relief. Unfortunately this restarted the process and a new assessor had to come. Eventually a contractor was assigned. Work started with a good plan going well until mould was discovered behind a wall cupboard. Work stopped until the assessor approved the extra work. Then the trades had to be lined up again which took a while. In the end the job was done ok but it took 7 months in which time we lived in chaos. The sting in the tail came two months later when my insurance came up for renewal. My broker said that First Underwriting had declined to quote and I have had to change company.

A dripping pipe damaged the ceiling of the room beneath. An assessor was out within 48 hours of my contacting the company. The claim was processed and we received a cash settlement within two weeks. The whole process was smooth and everyone we dealt with - call centre staff, office staff and the assessor – were friendly and helpful. My one gripe is their on-hold system: it has no queuing message and the music is scratchy, as if the tape needs replacing. It doesn't inspire confidence - a pity since our claims experience was excellent.

Large claim for flooding of an empty property where water ran for a week. Took a bit of chasing up initially but once I had a dedicated person to deal with (Hursh), everything ran very smoothly. Money was paid out promptly. No one wants to have a flooded house, but this company did make the whole insurance claim process as painful as possible. Would highly recommend

First U/W Dealt with my mothers home insurance claim quickly and efficiently and with no fuss or hassle. The claim was paid in full within 2 weeks of the burglary taking place.

One wishes one had looked up these reviews before selecting this company for my home insurance. 67% 1-star reviews - with no option for zero - is a shocking demonstration of dissatisfaction experienced by clients.

I have had my home insurance with First Underwriting for 2 or 3 years. However, I will soon renovate my house, so I dutifully informed my home insurers, as is the custom; the company would no longer insure me. Fine. If this is company policy, I cannot argue. My issue is that the company highhandedly ceased to insure the house. I explained the renovations had yet to begin and requested the insurance (I had paid for) continue until such times as the work had started. First Underwriting refused this request, and the policy was cancelled.

Due to processes taking a few days to complete whilst setting up insurance with the new company, my home was uninsured for two days. No harm done - apart from the reputation of First Underwriting.

Absolutely First Class kept us informed week by week they have really done a great job under difficult circumstances would highly recommend thank you so very much for all your help

Made a claim for a stolen bike. After making the initial approach and spoke to a human (very reassuring) the response from First Underwriting was very quick. After suppling the documentation they required the settlement and payout followed on very quickly.
Many thanks for your help in this matter.

All the staff were very helpful. It was not a simple claim and I found staff very professional

Many thanks for all your help in settling our claim so quickly – your speedy response was hugely appreciated.

On the strength of this our son went out two days ago and bought a new laptop which as a PhD student and lecturer he needs constantly.

Thank you for making a difficult situation as stressfree as possible.

Many thanks again.

The new house suffered a flood and within seven days of the event in August 2022 the house was installed with humidifiers. Although the repair work took a few months to start in January 2023, the repairs were carried out to a high standard by the contractors who were authorised by First Underwriting Ltd.

My car was stolen at the beginning of September and I am still waiting to be paid out! Back and forth continuously either the department that I need are busy or I will get a phone call back that will never happen! Was payout was made to my account and to allowing 3 to 5 working days for payment on the 7th working day still nothing!!! For me to call and be told “sorry we had a digit wrong with bank details it will be processed as urgent” still nothing!!!! The communication is appalling and I am still waiting!! I will now be taking this to the FOS

Offered renewal terms (which were reasonable) a few weeks before due date. Shortly after, I had to report a very minor, single-vehicle accident (car park scrape). The day before renewal, I was notified by my broker that First were no longer prepared to offer a renewal quote. No explanation given, despite being pushed by the broker. Had to rush around arranging alternative cover. Bizarre behaviour.

Most cowboy insurance providers to ever exist!
They will not pay out your claim & will avoid/delay as long as humanly possible until you take it over to the FOS/FCA. I don’t know how they still allow them to operate like this with all the complaints being made!

If you’re insured by these guys just accept your fate that you won’t get paid out & will have to fight for your life until you do. This could take years!

A truly loathsome company.I have been waiting ages to get paid.Much longer than their promised "max 14 days".Just lots of "we are chasing our accounts dept".Try calling them on 02076558035,they dont even answer that.How do these people sleep?

SCAMMERS! I had a car crash provided all documentation needed for their private investigator after 3 months of calling them all I get told every single time is “you’ll receive a call back claims being processed”. Also they got the location of where the car was and was told I will be called by the company when they tow the car as I had the key, they dragged the car with all my items in it onto a tow truck without my consent. I was left thinking the car had been stolen as the confused company forgot to give me a call. I still haven’t received any sort of letter, email or call back since the claim started. Never. They will try their best to beat around the bush. For your own safety and peace of mind do not use this company. They still have my car with all my belongings inside and haven’t given me a penny. And also the rudeness they speak to you with is just awful I don’t know how a company like this hasn’t been closed down. COWBOY INSURANCE COMPANY. STAY AWAY

If I could give zero stars I would. Absolutely terrible. No communication, lies; every time I phone it’s the same excuse; “waiting on engineer report” even though I know this isn’t always the case. 3 months since accident and still waiting pay out which is totally unacceptable. Avoid at all costs.

Bought temporary car insurance through them a month in advance in order to tax my car but when the time came my car wasn't showing insured on the MID database. I'm working away and my only option is to tax my car online so you can imagine how furious I was. Now I've wasted money and I am waiting to hear back on whether they will compensate me for their error. They usually take 1-2 weeks to reply to an email and the customer service is absolutely ridiculously bad. It seems like they aren't fully trained to answer routine questions. I've even received conflicting answers from two representatives and had to wait a week for the answer to be clarified.

Just avoid them if you can. They are absolutely rubbish.

Avoid at all costs.

Three months to settle a simple claim, don't respond to emails, don't provide information, don't deal with what you've sent them.

Awful.

Having a claim going though now, they are so bad, don’t get back to you, no support, ask you to sort everything out. It’s a joke, avoid, avoid, avoid!!!!!

Shocking service. FCA Claim going through right now. Incompetent is the word I would describe them. Avoid. They tried to breach contract.