The General Insurance OmbudService says that visits to its consumer services Web site soared during the nine-month period from April 2004 through to December 2004.

The number of unique visitors at www.gio-scad.org during the period was 24,385. That is up 278% from the 6,450 unique visitors recorded for the same period in 2003.

“Consumers who want to access GIO to learn of our consumer help services or use our online complaint form are doing so via the Internet in greater numbers than we predicted,” said Lea Algar, chairwoman of the General Insurance OmbudService

The Web site details GIO’s background and governance, describes the process for consumer assistance and dispute resolution including an online complaint form. Helpful links, FAQ’s and contacts for each Canadian province round out the web site.