The latest figures show car and motorcycle insurance generated 3,519 new complaints between January and March 2026, up from 3,145 in Q1 2025. This is more than twice as many as buildings insurance, the next most complained about business line, while travel insurance remained the third largest source of complaints.
However, while motor continues to dominate complaint volumes, the picture across the wider market was more mixed.
Buildings insurance complaints fell by more than 6% year-on-year to 1,618 cases, while travel insurance complaints increased by 5% to 1,106. Together, the three business lines accounted for almost three in five insurance complaints referred to the Financial Ombudsman Service during the quarter.
Home insurance, which, alongside buildings and travel insurance, has come under scrutiny from both Which? and the House of Lords in recent months, also saw complaint volumes fall, with referrals down 6% year-on-year to 393.
There were also signs of improvement in the pet insurance market, which has experienced a sharp increase in complaints in recent years.
Complaints referred to the FOS fell by 13% compared with Q1 2025, while the proportion upheld in favour of consumers declined from 52% to 38%. The combination of fewer complaints and fewer being upheld suggests the market may be beginning to move in the right direction.
Indeed, the latest upheld rate figures leave pet insurance much more closely aligned with other major personal lines. During the first quarter of 2026, 34% of complaints relating to both motor and travel insurance were upheld, compared with 37% for buildings insurance.
The findings reinforce why insurers should consider both complaint volumes and complaint outcomes when assessing customer experience. Larger business lines will naturally attract more complaints because of their size, but changes in complaint volumes and upheld rates can provide an early indication of emerging issues or improvements in customer outcomes.
For insurers, brokers and product governance teams, analysing complaint trends at business line level provides valuable insight into where customer experience is changing. Viewed alongside other measures, such as claims performance, complaints data can help firms benchmark against the market, identify emerging risks, and demonstrate good customer outcomes under the Consumer Duty.
How Insurance DataLab Can Help
Insurance DataLab’s market intelligence platform tracks quarterly FOS complaint volumes and upheld rates, broken down by insurer, product line and complaint type. Combined with our wider insights on claims performance and customer experience, this enables firms to benchmark performance, identify emerging risks and evidence good customer outcomes.
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