The Insurance Ombudsman has reported a significant increase in the number of disputes between consumers and general insurance providers requiring internal resolution.
The ombudsman said that the number of disputes directed towards the so-called internal dispute resolution process had risen by 30 per cent in 2005-06 to 16,508, and that this had been fuelled by a 48 per cent rise in the number of claims rejected by the industry.
And the bad news for the general insurance sector is that of those disputes referred to the ombudsman, 32 per cent were resolved in favour of the consumer.
The majority of the disputes referred to the internal disputes resolution process related to home, travel and motor insurance, with close to half relating to motor insurance, while 29 per cent related to home insurance products.
When disputes cannot be resolved by way of internal disputes resolution they are referred to the ombudsman for final determination.
The good news for the general insurance industry is the ombudsman reported an 8 per cent increase in the number of cases determined in favour of insurance providers.
