New analysis by Norton Insurance Brokers found complaints have risen for four consecutive quarters, reaching 1,275 between April and June 2026. Here are the details;
At the same time, fewer complaints are being resolved in the customer’s favour. The latest uphold rate, which measures the proportion of cases where the ombudsman agrees with the customer, fell to 32%.
Complaints have risen for four quarters running
Travel insurance complaints to the Financial Ombudsman Service have increased every quarter since spring 2025.
They rose from 996 between April and June 2025 to 1,060 the following quarter, followed by 1,156, 1,239 and finally 1,275 between April and June 2026.
The latest total is the highest quarterly figure across the three years of published data reviewed by Norton Insurance Brokers.
The Financial Ombudsman Service reported a 30% year-on-year rise and said declined claims were the most common complaint issue during the latest quarter.
Why are travellers complaining?
Declined claims sit at the centre of the latest rise, but Financial Ombudsman Service commentary across the wider period points to several recurring sources of dispute.
These include policyholders being told a pre-existing medical condition had not been properly disclosed, dissatisfaction with emergency assistance after falling ill abroad, delayed or missed flights, and lost or stolen luggage.
For travellers, these disputes often come down to a gap between what they expected their policy to cover and what the insurer says the policy covers when a claim is made.
Fewer complaints are being decided in customers’ favour
As complaint volumes have risen, the proportion of cases upheld in favour of customers has generally fallen.
|
Quarter |
Period |
New complaints |
Uphold rate |
|
Q1 2025/26 |
Apr–Jun 2025 |
996 |
36% |
|
Q2 2025/26 |
Jul–Sep 2025 |
1,060 |
35%* |
|
Q3 2025/26 |
Oct–Dec 2025 |
1,156 |
37% |
|
Q4 2025/26 |
Jan–Mar 2026 |
1,239 |
34% |
|
Q1 2026/27 |
Apr–Jun 2026 |
1,275 |
32% |
*Q2 2025/26’s uphold rate is based on a smaller number of resolved cases than most other quarters and should be treated as indicative.
Since early 2024, the earliest point in the data reviewed, the uphold rate has fallen from 45% to 32%, the lowest level in the three years covered.
This means more travellers are escalating complaints to the ombudsman, while a smaller share are receiving a decision in their favour.
Still, complaints are not simply being dismissed across the board. Across the full three-year period, an average of 38% of travel insurance complaints were upheld, meaning the ombudsman sided with the customer in more than one in three cases.
What should travellers check before making a claim?
Norton’s experts recommend checking policy terms before travelling rather than waiting until something has gone wrong.
Common avoidable reasons for claims being declined include undeclared medical conditions, excluded activities, travelling outside the limits of the policy, and failing to provide enough evidence to support the claim.
Travellers should keep receipts, booking confirmations, medical records, police reports and written correspondence with airlines or other providers where relevant. Saving digital copies as they go can make this easier if documents are lost during the trip.
If a claim is declined, travellers should ask the insurer to explain the decision in writing and identify the policy wording being relied on. If they believe the decision is wrong, they should raise a formal complaint with the insurer before taking the case further.
Mark Wilkinson, Managing Director at Norton Insurance Brokers, said:
“The key point in these figures is that more travellers are unhappy enough with the outcome of a claim to take the dispute to the ombudsman, and declined claims are now the most common issue.
“Travel insurance often only gets tested when something has already gone wrong. That is when people may first realise an exclusion applies, a condition should have been declared or a particular part of their trip was not covered in the way they expected.
“The falling uphold rate also shows why checking the policy before travelling matters. A complaint reaching the ombudsman does not automatically mean the insurer made the wrong decision.
“At the same time, more than a third of complaints have been upheld across the three years we reviewed, so travellers should not assume a declined claim is always the final word.
“If you think a claim has been declined unfairly, ask your insurer for a full explanation and raise a formal complaint. If you are still unhappy with its final response, you may then be able to take the case to the Financial Ombudsman Service for an independent review.”
For more information on what travel insurance covers, common exclusions and what to check before travelling, visit: https://www.nortonib.co.uk/travel-insurance/
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