Mohammed Sheikh rated Darwin Insurance 1 stars
3 weeks ago
Don't waste your time, they're only good at taking your money!
An insurance company who are happy to take premiums and payments from customers but have a hard time settling disputes and complaints, especially when they record information inaccurately and incorrectly.
I notified them of an incident that took place in a couple of years ago, which after 6 months of poor investigation and no regular updates, I was assured the information provided would be recorded as information only, as no claims had been submitted by me or any 3rd parties. As such I was categorically told that this shouldn't affect my premiums or NCB going forward.
Fast forward a few months when it comes to renewal, I change insurance providers to one that offers me a cheaper quote. At least I thought so until they then contacted a few weeks later demanding an additional payment due to this 'open claim'! So either I pay the additional premium difference or have my insurance cancelled. I paid the difference and discovered that Darwin Insurance had in fact kept the claim open, which is what caused me to have to pay the additional premium, not to mention that it made me come across has having dishonestly obtained a cheaper quote, which could have had the new insurance provider cancel my policy!
After logging a complaint and a couple emails forwards and backwards Darwin Insurance failed to act on my complaint within 8 weeks which then meant taking it to the ombudsman in order to resolve the matter, with a view to me claiming back the difference as well as compensation for their mistake! It seems well after 8 weeks did I finally receive their 'final response' retrospectively dated by post stating that they wouldn't be upholding my complaint! Yet when I requested this final response via email they simply said it had been sent to me but couldn't confirm when it had been sent nor could they email me a copy or summary of the response, talk about being incompetent! Not to mention only after the ombudsman involvement did they then say 'we could look into it but you've now got the ombudsman involved'!
Following the ombudsman complaint even then I was being told that Darwin Insurance were being stubborn in refusing to accept liability for their mistake as well as failing to comply with the ombudsman timescales in responding to them! Finally, after receiving my amended NCB proof, was I able to claim the difference I paid in premiums back from my new provider, along with the ombudsman awarding me a further £100 in compensation for their incompetence, stubbornness, laziness and their ability in inaccurately recording information. I should have also contacted the Information Commissioner's Office regarding them holding and recording information inaccurately, which I will be doing.
Oh it gets better, even the £100 compensation couldn't be paid on time either! They had 4 weeks to pay this and couldn't even do that, until the ombudsman had to remind them to pay, only then did they pay this within the next 48 hours.
This entire experience has been diabolical and a shambles from the moment I first initiated my complaint to the very end. I honestly believe based on how events unfolded this was purely down to employees at Darwin Insurance being useless, incompetent and stubborn right up until the very end, to the point where they couldn't even settle on time! Yet when it's the other way around I'm sure they're quick to demand payments and premiums from customers.
I suggest Dexter Short (complaints agent) and the other incompetent employees involved in my complaint had Darwin Insurance take this as a steep learning curve.
I mean what were you hoping for or expecting, that I'd forget all about it so you wouldn't have to settle the complaint!? A complaint from an issue that occurred in May 2024 and they only just settled the complaint in June 2025. Absolutely disgraceful!