Customer Care

We have detailed some of the questions about Foresters that have been frequently asked. For questions about our products please see the product pages. If your question isn’t shown, or you need further information, please contact us and we will be happy to help.

A mutual organisation is owned and run for the benefit of its members and unlike a PLC, has no external shareholders to pay in the form of dividends. Profits are usually re-invested for the benefits of members, although some may be used for internal finance to ensure the mutual is sustainable, safe and secure.

Founded in 1874, we have been enriching the lives of our members, their families and their communities for over 145 years.

Foresters Financial serves more than 3 million customers and members across the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States. Through its international member network, Foresters Financial provides more than one million members with valuable member benefits and volunteering opportunities in their own communities.

Foresters helps communities by raising funds for charities and local projects and by helping members who need support. Our staff and members volunteer their time and skills to support nearly 100 charities across the UK, including many local children's hospices. We measure our success not only by our financial strength, but also by the positive impact we have on our members' communities.

Our Foresters sponsored events allow you and your family to enjoy quality time together without the hassle of planning or the burden of high costs. Each year Foresters offers a range of fun family events that give our members a chance to relax and connect with each other and their loved ones. Sporting events, theme parks, zoos, circuses, museums - there’s an event for everyone, no matter what you’re interested in.

You can download our Key Facts document to find out more about our services.

Forester Life Key Facts Document

We are sorry if you are not happy with our products or service and we would like the opportunity to put matters right for you.

If you wish to make a complaint you can contact our Customer Relations Department as follows:

• In writing: Customer Relations Officer, Foresters House, 2 Cromwell Avenue, Bromley BR2 9BF
• By telephone: 0333 600 0333 
• By email: customer.relations@foresters.co.uk 

Our complaints procedure is detailed in the “Our Complaints Procedure” section below.

If, at the end of the complaint process you still remain unhappy, you have the right to refer your dispute to the Financial Ombudsman Service. Their service is free of charge for you but you will need to do this within 6 months from receiving the final decision letter by contacting the Financial Ombudsman Service as follows:

• In writing: Exchange Tower, London, E14 9SR.
• By telephone: 0300 123 9 123, switchboard 020 7964 1000, from outside the UK +44 20 7964 1000
• By email: complaint.info@financial-ombudsman.org.uk

Their website is www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk, which includes more information about their service.

Customers who use our online facility to take out and manage their Forester Life Plan may alternatively submit their complaint to the Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) platform.

Complaints Report - July 2019 to December 2019

Every 6 months our regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), requires us to send a report containing information about the complaints we receive from our customers.

The FCA also requires firms to publish certain information about the complaints received if these total 500 or more in a 6 month period.

Whilst Forester Life received fewer than 500 complaints in the 6 month period 1 July 2019 to 31 December 2019, we want to be open in the way we handle complaints and feel that we should publish our complaint data regardless of the number received.

The following table gives details of the complaints data reported to the FCA:

Firm Name: Forester Life Limited (FRN: 177898)

Period covered in this report: 1 July 2019 – 31 December 2019

Brands/trading names covered: Foresters Financial

	Number of complaints opened by volume of business
Product/service grouping	Provision (at reporting end date)	Number of complaints opened	Number of complaints closed	Percentage closed within 3 days	Percentage closed after 3 days but within 8 weeks	Percentage upheld	Main cause of complaints opened
Insurance and pure protection	0.88 complaints per 1000 policies in force	45	38	28.95%	71.05%	18.42%	Advising Selling & Arranging
Decumulation and pensions	1.18 complaints per 1000 policies in force	19	20	25.00%	75%	20%	General Admin/Customer Service
Investments	0.36 complaints per 1000 client accounts	419	432	21.30%	78.70%	19.91%	General Admin/Customer service

  

We take complaints very seriously. We consider them to be an important indicator of how we are doing and use them to help us understand where things have gone wrong and how we can improve our products and services. We do this by monitoring complaint trends on a continuous basis and taking appropriate action as a result of what we learn.

How do you deal with my complaint?
In the first instance, we will normally try to resolve your complaint by the close of business on the third working day after the day your complaint is received. We will contact you to make sure you are satisfied with our findings, and will confirm them in writing to you within five working days after the complaint has been resolved.

 

What if my complaint cannot be resolved quickly?
In some circumstances it may not be possible to resolve your complaint within the three day period if for example, we need to obtain more information to fully address the complaint. In such cases we will acknowledge your complaint in writing and a Customer Relations Officer will be assigned to investigate the complaint.

Your Customer Relations Officer will endeavour to complete the investigation within four weeks and once the investigation is complete will send our response to you in writing. We will set out our final decision and explain the reasons for that decision. If your complaint is upheld we will include what we intend to do to put things right. If your complaint is not upheld we will explain why. We will also provide you with details of how to refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service should you remain unhappy with our decision.

  

How do you keep me informed?
If your Customer Relations Officer has not been able to complete the investigation within four weeks, we will write to you to explain why. In the event that we have not been able to resolve your complaint within eight weeks, we will send you a further letter to explain why. We will also tell you how to refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service if you are unhappy with the delays or how we have handled your complaint.

After eight weeks if we have not resolved your complaint, we will write to you every four weeks to update you with the progress of our investigation until we can provide you with a final decision.

 

What is the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS)?
FOS is an independent resolution scheme. You have six months following our response to your complaint, including complaints resolved within three days, to refer the complaint to FOS. This service is free of charge to customers.
The contact details for the Financial Ombudsman Service are:

• Address: The Financial Ombudsman Service, Exchange Tower, London E14 9SR
• Telephone Number: 0300 123 9123
• Email: complaint.info@financial-ombudsman.org.uk
• Website: www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk

 

If you require any further information about our complaints procedure you can telephone Customer Relations on 0333 600 0333.