Of the nearly 97,000 complaints lodged with Australian dispute resolution organisation AFCA in the past 12 months, just under 2% were for life insurance.
A statement from the organisation says consumers lodged a record 96,987 complaints, an “unprecedented” rise of 34% on the previous financial year.
However, AFCA says that of the complaints lodged, only 1,898 (1.95%) related to life insurance, representing a 24% drop from the 2,482 complaints received in FY2022.
AFCA’s Chief Ombudsman and CEO, David Locke, says the rise in complaints “…reflected growing financial stress in the community, the continued scourge of scams, and issues with insurer claims handling that had continued for well over a year.”
The top issue in regard insurance complaints in 2022-23 was due to delays in claim handling (up 76%).
“We have been raising our concerns about claim delays with insurers for over 12 months now,” Locke says. “It is disappointing that this continues to be a concern.”
Locke says the impact of financial stress from rising interest rates and costs of living in Australia became increasingly evident in complaints in the final quarter of 2022-23.
Click here to see AFCA’s Data Snapshot.