Complaints about motor insurance have risen according to the financial watchdog, including a third now relating to delayed claims handling.
The Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) looks at complaints across the financial sector and found motor vehicle insurance complaints now surpassed home building insurance complaints.
Chief Ombudsman David Locke said while the total number was an improvement over last year they had hoped to see more issues resolved before they reached the Ombudsman’s stage.
The preliminary data snapshot showed scams were a key driver of the 105,454 overall financial complaints in 2023-24 , contributing to record complaints in the banking and finance and general insurance sectors.
Locke said that while the rate of increase in general insurance complaints had moderated in 2023-24 – after jumping 50 per cent the previous year – complaints for this sector were at a record high for the second year running.
“We are disappointed the sector has not yet been able to achieve sustained improvement,” he said.
A 21 per cent surge in complaints about comprehensive motor vehicle insurance meant it overtook home building cover as the most complained about insurance product in 2023-24.
Claim delays accounted for a third of these vehicle insurance complaints, and delay in claim handling remained the top issue in general insurance overall.
“It’s in everyone’s interests that rising complaints are tackled at the source.”