THE IMPACT of the coronavirus pandemic has caused widespread frustration with insurance claims handling - with some customers experiencing weeks without information and waiting hours to be connected on the phone, new research has found.

The study looked at 95 would-be claimants who have made insurance claims over the last nine months.

Of the dozens of diarists, only nine reported having their claims settled druing the time they kept their Covid-19 diaries - a process which took between one day and 19 weeks, said the new analysis from the consumer organisation Which?

These diaries - logging issues ranging from cancelled holidays to house repairs - exposed recurring problems with the claims process after many faced communications limbo, inflexible procedures and companies shifting the blame - with around a third of diarists reflecting negatively on insurers’ handling of claims.

More than four in 10 of all the claims that were being tracked were directly linked to issues surrounding the coronavirus pandemic.

Several diarists found themselves stuck between their insurer and other firms trying to shift liability – most typically airlines, tour operators and banks.

One man was left £226 out of pocket for five months while an airline, bank and insurer squabbled over liability for his loss after his trip to Malaysia and Japan was cancelled.

He told Which? that while he finds the process somewhat of a "farce", he’s been generally impressed with how supportive the insurer has been – although he found its claims process "tedious".

Recent Which? research revealed that many airlines and tour operators have broken the law by not issuing refunds for cancelled trips. It analysed 12,000 refund complaints worth a combined £5.6 million, with the total time spent by customers pursuing the claims totalling 52,000 hours.

Collectively, the diarists logged 9.5 hours simply waiting to be connected to insurers on the phone, with the longest waiting time for a single call lasting 95 minutes. One member endured more than four hours of hold music across five calls logged in his journal.

Claimants also discovered that lockdown conditions placed severe strain on car and home insurers too.

The consumer organisation is now advising claimants to contact their insurer directly for advice before claiming, to keep detailed records of events and interactions with companies, challenge the terms and conditions of policies, and not to give up in their pursuit of a result.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has issued guidance to financial firms - such as travel insurers and card providers - on making it simpler for consumers to recover lost costs after cancelled travel.

And Which? says it believes there also needs to be greater co-operation between the travel sector and financial services and has called for the FCA to consider its role in facilitating and promoting this.

This move would stop customers from having to keep returning to insurers with advice from firms in the travel sector, preventing lengthy, confusing and stressful processes.

Jenny Ross, Which? money editor, said: “While the coronavirus outbreak has had a massive impact on the insurance industry, customers should not have to suffer such excessively long waits for insurers to respond to their claims, let alone resolve them.

“We expect the industry to step up its game to ensure the process is as efficient as possible for those making a claim.

“If you are struggling to get your insurer to act on a claim don’t give up. Whether it’s battling through extended hold times, submitting and resubmitting documents, or disputing how your claim has been assessed – for many people, persistence has paid off.”