Fairer Finance will rank firms based on what customers think of them, how good they are at handling complaints and how transparent they are.

The founders of the new group said the ratings are designed to help people get a clearer understanding of which companies treat their customers well, and which need to try harder.

The top-rated companies will qualify for a gold, silver or bronze Fairer Finance ribbon.

Founder and managing director James Daley said: “Comparison sites have made it much easier for people to shop around for a good price on insurance and banking products. But price is only half of the picture. How do you know that your cheap insurance policy is actually going to pay out? Or if you’re switching banks, how do you know that the staff will be friendly, and the account will be good value?”

He continued: “By collating the views of almost 10,000 banking and insurance customers, an analysing each company’s record on complaints handling and transparency, we hope to help consumers fit in that last important piece of the jigsaw.”

In addition to ranking companies, Fairer Finance will campaign with other consumer groups for a fairer financial services market.

Daley added: “If we can encourage more people to choose companies who treat their customers well, we hope we can put pressure on the rest to up their game.”

Daley, the ex-editor of Which? Money, founded Fairer Finance with consultant and think tank director Andrew Freeman.

The consumer opinion polling which underpins the site’s ratings is carried out by Opinium, while complaints analysis is carried out using data from the Financial Ombudsman Service.