Co-op Insurance Reviews 

My Mum passed away and I was dealing with the funeral arrangements and her estate. As her next of kin, I contacted Co-op Insurance because her buildings insurance had been with them for many years and I wanted to make sure the property remained properly insured.

I was extremely shocked to be told that the insurance was apparently not valid from the time of my Mum's death until the time I contacted them, despite the fact that I had contacted them specifically to notify them and make sure the property was insured.

I was then told that because the property was now unoccupied, the existing policy would be cancelled at midnight that same day.

This left me with only a matter of hours to find alternative buildings insurance for my Mum's home while I was dealing with her death, funeral arrangements and everything else involved in administering her estate.

Co-op did offer an alternative policy, but this involved significantly reduced cover, a lengthy series of additional questions and potentially a considerably higher premium. It was not simply a continuation of the insurance my Mum had held for many years.

I find the way this was handled extremely disappointing. I accept that an insurer may decide it does not want to insure an unoccupied property. What I find unacceptable is the way a bereaved family was left with effectively a few hours to arrange alternative cover, and being told that there was apparently no valid cover from the time of my Mum's death until I contacted them.

Co-op subsequently offered me £50 for the distress and inconvenience caused. I declined it because this was never primarily about compensation. My concern is that another family could find themselves in exactly the same position following the death of a loved one.

I also referred in my original review to the insurance business having been sold to an American company. Co-op has correctly pointed out that Markerstudy is a UK-based company. I have therefore corrected that wording.

However, the Co-op's own announcement confirms that its insurance underwriting business was sold in 2020 for £185 million to Soteria Finance Holdings, involving Markerstudy, TwinFocus and funds managed by Blackstone Credit. So my broader point remains that the insurance business is no longer the same organisation my Mum had been dealing with for many years.

Co-op has now issued its final response to my complaint. I am considering referring the matter to the Financial Ombudsman Service because I do not believe the response adequately addresses the way this situation was handled.

I would not recommend Co-op Insurance based on my experience.

Rubena was very helpful

Service was fast, efficient and very affordable.

Lots of expensive admin fees! I tried to add a temporary named driver but the fees made it unfeesable. I switched vehicles and they bumped up the Premium way more then they competitors. Thats not problem, however when I wanted to switch insurers there fees were about £80 so i would lose money by switching .I then forgot to cancel the auto renewal so they charged me and extra £35 even though I am well within the cooling off period. I cant comment on the cover as never had to make a claim but I imagine there is a victim fee of £100

Excellent and very helpful

I did the transaction online so didn’t speak to anyone.

It was so quick & easy to do & more to the point it came in lower than most for costs. I welcomed the discount as I am a coop card holder. In this economic climate it was refreshing to get that too. Thanks

It was easy to navigate and gave clear pricing and what is available

Easy to navigate, all information given to ensure that correct information is given.
Quote was instant, and competitive with other companies.

Easy to to book

Super quick to get a quote, good competitive price!! Not a lot of questions to answer very simple and easy

Very good choice and price's too

Forms straight forward to fill in and the price was the best from other holiday insurance companies. Bonus is as a member I was given a discount.

Very quick and easy to understand

Simple to navigate website. No complicated or ambiguous questions. Straightforward, clear and honest policy with a great price.

Easy to use self explanatory. Easy to understand.

Always been with the co op for the dogs insurance, the last renewals were I thought a bit high so I spoke to them directly and with the help of a very helpful person she gave me a much better quote,