At its annual general meeting held earlier this month the OmbudService for Life & Health Insurance (OLHI) announced another successful year, and the successful completion of its second independent review.
OLHI is a national independent complaint resolution and information service for consumers of Canadian life and health insurance products and services.
OLHI said total contacts with the public exceeded 66,000 this year, led by a growth in web visits of 35%. It also noted a significant increase in both complaint referrals from insurers and the number of Western consumers using OLHI’s services.
“We are pleased that OLHI’s profile with the public continues to grow”, said Dr. Janice MacKinnon, OLHI chairwoman.
“Another major highlight has been the completion of OLHI’s second independent review,” added MacKinnon. “The review concludes that OLHI is fulfilling its mandate as an independent forum for consumer protection.”
“We are particularly happy with the reviewer’s conclusion that OLHI operates independently from the life and health insurance industry and that its current model for the selection of directors should not be changed,” she said.
MacKinnon also clarified that OLHI will continue to handle consumer complaints related to segregated funds.
“Segregated funds are insurance products and OLHI has the expertise to handle these complaints. It makes sense that we continue to review them and to refer any related banking or mutual fund complaint to our sister OmbudService, OBSI,” she said.
OLHI receives approximately 70 segregated fund complaints annually; fewer than 10% involve a mutual fund or banking component.
Further details on notable company events in the past year, including consumer case studies, are contained in OLHI’s 2012 -13 Annual Report now available online.