229 Days to Decision — 178 Days Without Notice (FAL §§ 24-25 and Good Practice)
9/10229 Days to Decision — 178 Days Without Notice
What Happened
Gjensidige Case 4 (asbestos) was filed on 21 May 2025. Gjensidige did not make a decision until 5 January 2026 — 229 days later. There was ongoing contact until 4 July 2025; after that, the Claimant received nothing from Gjensidige for approx. 178 days, until the company resumed contact on 29 December 2025 — with no explanation for the silence.
Timeline
| Date | Event | Days |
|---|---|---|
| May 21, 2025 | Claim filed | Day 0 |
| June 2025 | Assessor: first review | ~Day 30 |
| July 2025 | Mandate changed (retroactively) | ~Day 45 |
| Aug–Dec 2025 | No communication | Day 90–220 |
| Jan 5, 2026 | Rejection received | Day 229 |
What the Law Says
The Danish Insurance Contracts Act (FAL) § 24 provides that "[t]he insurance benefit may be demanded paid 14 days after the insurer has been able to obtain the information necessary to assess the insured event and determine the amount of the benefit." The provision presupposes active case handling.
FAL § 25 provides that "[t]he insurer must, no later than 3 months after notification of the insured event, inform the insured of the right to claim payment under § 24(1), 2nd sentence, unless the insured's claim has been met or rejected by then." As the case was neither decided nor rejected after 3 months, and no information about partial payment was given, I consider this a further breach.
Bekendtgørelse nr. 1557 af 6. december 2024 om god skik for forsikringsdistributører § 4 provides that an insurance distributor must "handle redeligt og loyalt" — act honestly and fairly — towards its customers.
Good insurance practice requires the insurer to: - Promptly acknowledge receipt of a claim - Inform about expected processing time - Provide ongoing status updates during delays - Communicate the reason for any delays
What Gjensidige Did — and Didn't Do
Gjensidige: - Sent nothing for approx. 178 days (4 July – 29 December 2025) - Did not inform about the delay - Gave no explanation for the extraordinary processing time - Made a decision without warning it was coming
Perspective
In the middle of a pending case, the Claimant received nothing for approx. 178 days. The company had no technical limitation preventing it from sending a status email. In my assessment, this long silence is difficult to reconcile with good insurance practice.
For comparison: The Danish Insurance Complaints Board typically processes complaints within 3-6 months — and that involves a formal hearing of both parties.