OmbudService Sees Few Mediations

Canada’s property and casualty insurers can take heart that the new industry ombuds service is seeing a slow volume of complaints making their way into mediation, says Lea Algar, chair of the General Insurance OmbudsService (GIO). Speaking at the Canadian Insurance Accountants Association (CIAA), Algar says that while there have been a number of complaints about increasing insurance rates, there have been few legitimate complaints that have not been resolved between the insurer and insured.

The process of the GIO is as a central receptacle for complaints, to advise consumers on the official complaint process, which entails first going back to the insurer to try find a resolution. If this fails, mediation may result, but Algar notes that thus far the GIO has only sent eight cases to mediation, with about seven more headed there. She adds that the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) has handled almost 37,000 calls, but some were simply requests for information. “I think the companies are really doing a good job,” she says.