Feedback & Complaints
Out of house, but not out of mind
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Our agent or intermediary is your first port of call. There are also third-party mediation services in the unlikely event that the problem persists.
Great Lakes is committed to the oversight of outsourcing agreements and has robust systems and controls in place to monitor our agents and ensure that they are treating customers fairly.
How to lodge a complaint
Great Lakes Insurance SE (Great Lakes) uses delegated authority to manufacture and distribute (retail and SME) insurance products via agency and/or coinsurance agreements. This means that, although we will appear in your policy documents as the underwriter, we outsource services such as claims and complaint handling to selected agents. You should be able to find the contact details for our agent on your insurance documentation, e.g. the Insurance Product Information Document (IPID) that was issued when you purchased cover. Details of the complaint process can also be found in your policy documentation.
Please contact our agent directly regarding your complaint. Agents are required to satisfy your complaints according to our standards and follow complaint handling rules established by local legislation. This is part of our agreement with them.
Australia:
To learn more about complaints handling in relation to our Australian Branch and/or our Australian insurance products, please refer to our dedicated subsite.
Italy:
To learn more about complaints handling in relation to our Italian Branch and/or our Italian insurance products and the possibilities to involve the local ombudsman, please refer to our dedicated subsite.
Portugal:
To learn more about complaints handling in relation to our insurance products in Portugal, please refer to our dedicated subsite.
USA:
Great Lakes Insurance SE (Great Lakes) is a non-U.S. surplus lines insurer, eligible to accept surplus lines business in all U.S. states and territories by virtue of its listing by the International Insurers Department of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (AA-1340043). Only properly licensed surplus lines brokers may place business with Great Lakes. Should you have a question or a complaint concerning your coverage, please first contact your local agent directly. If your local agent is unable to assist, they can reach out to the surplus lines broker that placed your coverage with Great Lakes.
If you remain dissatisfied with response(s) that you receive, please register your complaint at your State Department of Insurance/Financial Services.
What to do if you remain dissatisfied
In the overwhelming majority of cases, our agent will be able to resolve your complaint. However, should you remain unhappy, you may be able to use an alternative dispute resolution service (ADR). The ADR you are referred to will likely depend on the jurisdiction in which you purchase the cover. You can use the European Commission’s Online Dispute Resolution service to identify a suitable ADR service if you purchased your cover in Europe.
In those jurisdictions where Great Lakes is a member of specific financial services or insurance-related local ombudsman services, you also have the option of approaching such ombudsman services.
Germany:
If your complaint relates to a German-domiciled insurance policy or product and you remain unhappy after our final response, you may refer your complaint to:
Bundesanstalt fur Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht (BaFin)
Graurheindorfer Str. 108, 53117 Bonn, Germany
Tel. 228 299 70 299
www.bafin.de
postelle@bafin.de
UK:
If your complaint is about a UK product and you remain unhappy after our agent provides a final response or eight weeks have passed, whichever is sooner, you may ask the UK Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) to carry out an independent review of your complaint. The FOS is a free and impartial service that exists to help resolve complaints. FOS contact details:
The Financial Ombudsman Service
Exchange Tower
London
E14 9SR
Tel: 0800 023 4567
You can also visit the FOS website for further information.
Spain
If you are complaining about a Spanish-domiciled contract and remain dissatisfied after our final response, you may refer the complaint to:
Direcciòn General de Seguros y Fondos de Pensiones (DGSFP)
P. Castellana 44, 28046 Madrid, Spain
Tel. 952 24 99 82
https://dgsfp.mineco.gob.es/
reclamaciones.seguros@mineco.es
Portugal
If your complaint concerns a Portuguese-domiciled policy and after our internal process you remain dissatisfied, you may refer the matter to:
Autoridade de Supervisao de Seguros e Fundos de Pensoes (ASF)
Av. da Repùblica 76, 1600-205 Lisbon, Portugal
Tel. 21 790 31 00
www.asf.com.pt
consumidor@asf.com.pt
France
If your complaint concerns a French-domiciled product and you are a private individual, once you have submitted your complaint to us and remain dissatisfied, you may refer the matter to:
La Médiation de l’Assurance
TSA 50110, 75441 Paris Cedex 09, France
Tel. 0811 901 801
www.mediation-assurance.org
le.mediateur@mediation-assurance.org
Italy
If your complaint concerns an Italian-domiciled insurance product, once you have exhausted our internal complaint process and remain dissatisfied, you may raise a complaint with:
Istituto per la Vigilanza sulle Assicurazioni (IVASS)
Via del Quirinale 21, 00187 Roma, Italy
Tel. 06 9435 8604
www.ivass.it
tutela.consumatore@pec.ivass.it
Switzerland:
If your complaint is about a Swiss product and you remain unhappy after our agent has dealt with your complaint, you may ask the Swiss Ombudsman of Insurance to carry out an independent review of your complaint.
