Download Effective Customer Complaints Handling Format

Effective Customer Complaint
Handling
Presentation to
Insurance Ireland’s Annual President’s Conference
By
Ger Deering
Financial Services Ombudsman
The Financial Services Ombudsman
 Mediate
 Investigate
 Conduct Oral Hearings
 Adjudicate
 Award compensation up to €250k
 Direct rectification
 Publish complaint records
 Findings are legally binding, can only be appealed to the High Court
Complaints Received by Sector
Insurance Complaints
*Miscellaneous includes other categories such as marine, agriculture, computers mobile phones and pets
Insurance Findings & Settlements
Avoiding Disputes
Clear communication, in plain English, can avoid or resolve
disputes and is particularly required when:
 Selling the product
 Providing policy documents and warnings
 Dealing with claims
 Dealing with complaints
 Entering an insurance contract is a serious business and should
be treated so by both parties
Can a Consumer know…
 What non-disclosure is?
 What a material fact is?
 What would reasonably influence a prudent insurer?
 What areas “are prone to storm”?
 Should the insurer have predicted Barney?
 What “areas are prone to crime”?
 Are there areas that are not?
 Whether material (the other “material”) is incombustible?
Utmost Good Faith
A contract of insurance is a contract of the utmost good
faith on both sides
“The Office of the Financial Services Ombudsman may
wish to consider the possibility that a reasonably
assertive claims policy may have strayed across the line
into an unreasonably avaricious claims policy which
sought to dislodge a genuine claim on specious grounds
under the ostensibly legitimising umbrella of uberrimae
fidei”
Deirdre Earls –v- Financial Services Ombudsman & FBD Insurance plc
High Court Unreported, Barrett J., 09 July 2015 – Rec. No. 2014/506 MCA
Resolving Complaints
Complaints can be:
 An early (or not so early) warning system
 A tool for measuring performance & customer satisfaction
Early Resolution of complaints can:
 Keep or win back customers
 Maintain or enhance reputation
 Save time and money
Early Resolution
 We encourage parties to:
 Avoid causing complaints – good quality information
 resolve issues before coming to us
 Encourage discussion and meaningful engagement
 Best outcome is resolution without the need for
adjudication
 Our aim is to resolve disputes/complaints at the earliest
possible opportunity
 This should be the aim of the service provider too
Mediation
We recommend mediation as the first and best
option to resolving complaints/disputes because it
is:
 Informal
 Confidential
 Potentially quicker
 Voluntary
 Offers a better possible range of solutions
Why then do so many providers reject this option?
Why are people so reluctant to engage?
 Not sure what it achieves
 We have set out our final position – so no point
 Perception that it shows a weakness
 The need for the “Harp” or someone else to make the decision
 Creates an expectation of payment
 Fruitless unless we had money to offer
 Resource requirements
“The lack of practical experience of mediation would indicate that
there are few “champions” for mediation within the financial
services industry”
International Financial Dispute Resolution
Australia
 Telephone Conciliation
 Fast Track Conciliation (1 Hour)
 Conciliation Conference
 Workshops for Financial Service Providers
New Zealand
 Facilitation (mainly recorded telephone calls)
 Infrequent use of face-to-face conciliation
 UK
 9 out of 10 cases resolved through informal means -
mediation
Where the Irish FSO is going:
 Amalgamation of Financial & Pensions Ombudsman
 Strategic & Operational Review
 Implement the simplest, most efficient, proportionate and effective
complaint resolution processes
 Resolve disputes:
 at the earliest possible stage
 as informally as possible
 as fast as possible
 Only when necessary, proceed to formal investigation, oral hearings
and adjudication
 Achieving this will require the support and co-operation of providers
Reducing and Resolving Complaints
 Communicate clearly
 Provide plainly written documents highlighting the essential terms
 Provide clear warnings of the consequences of certain actions /omissions
 Respond, promptly proportionately and fairly to complaints
 Provide appropriate, proportionate dispute resolution
 Empower your people to engage in the FSO’s new dispute resolution processes
in a meaningful, productive and proportionate manner
Thank You