The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA) has released its annual complaints report, revealing that it had received 493 consumer and industry complaints related to insurance during the 2021-2022 fiscal year.
According to the report, 230 of these complaints were in auto insurance, while 177 were in life and health. Property and casualty insurance accounted for 83 complaints.
Within the three insurance sectors that it regulates, the FSRA likewise resolved a total of 504 complaints. 239 of these cases were in auto insurance, 181 in life and health insurance, and 84 in property and casualty.
The report also shed light on the most common type of complaints received by the regulator.
For both auto and property and casualty, the top three complaint themes were similar. Complaints related to claims and settlement accounted for 42% of the cases received by the FSRA from both sectors, with the other top themes being contractual matters and customer service.
Meanwhile, in life and health insurance, 28% of complaints revolved around regulatory action in other jurisdictions, while 14% related to claims and settlements.
Complaints regarding administration, policy provisions, and unlicensed activity were also common in auto insurance (15%) and life and health insurance (34%).
Observing the most common theme for these complaints helps the FSRA better understand patterns of systemic issues, sector-specific risks and overall industry compliance, the regulator said in a statement.
“By receiving complaints from members of the public, FSRA is assisted by consumers to maintain high standards of conduct in the regulated sectors and better protecting consumers from harm,” said Wendy Horrobin, FSRA’s head for licensing and risk assessment, market conduct.
