Are insurance companies the emerging villains of the pandemic?

Shabby services, bureaucratic mazes and a communications limbo. The latest report into denied claims by consumer group Which? doesn’t paint a pretty picture of the industry, writes James Moore

Cancelled travel is just one of many areas causing strain for companies and consumers (iStock)

The insurance industry is rapidly emerging as a villain of the pandemic.

Which? this morning has some petrol to pour onto a fire already raging as a result of claims getting denied because of our old friend small print, or lost in a bureaucratic maze, or shifted into someone else’s inbox.

The consumer group asked 95 members who have made insurance claims over the last nine months to keep a diary tracking their experience. More than four in 10 of them said claims were linked to Covid-19.