General insurance products chalked up the most complaints tracked by the financial services sector’s mandatory internal dispute resolution regime.

They accounted for 33% – or about 1.56 million – of the more than 4.7 million complaints lodged in 2023-24, according to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s first internal dispute resolution (IDR) report, released today.

Credit products placed second on 22%, followed by deposit-taking offerings on 15%.

ASIC says more than $108 million of monetary remedy went to general insurance complainants and about 76% of disputes were resolved in a day.

By line, comprehensive motor drew the most complaints (56% or 876,595), then home building (24% or 371,014) and home contents (5% or 73,052).

The top three issues for complaints were premiums (45% or 704,137), service-related matters (13% or 204,062) and delays in claim handling (9% or 134,120).

ASIC says there are “significant variations” in the number of general insurance product complaints reported by major companies.

“This may reflect differences in firms’ complaints management cultures,” it said. “For example, a firm with a positive complaints culture may record and report more complaints. Accordingly, the aggregate data in this section may not accurately reflect IDR reporting for all insurers.”

ASIC says companies are required to collect and report internal dispute data, and it “will be undertaking a range of activities to strengthen compliance with the regime and to improve the ... data reported by financial firms”.

Financial services companies started reporting data to ASIC at the start of the year.

About 5035 businesses declared no complaints for the full year – more than the regulator expected.

ASIC commissioner Alan Kirkland said: “The gaps we’ve identified suggest there may be inconsistent IDR reporting practices across the industry. Starting from next year, we’ll be publishing data about complaints received by individual firms.

“It is crucial that firms act now to address any gaps in IDR reporting processes, because we will publish the data as it is reported to us.”

Internal dispute resolution is the first avenue for consumers with complaints. If they are unhappy with the outcome, they can seek a review with the Australian Financial Complaints Authority, whose decisions are binding on the company. 

AFCA chief ombudsman David Locke said: “The publication of this data enhances transparency, giving us a fuller picture of consumer complaints ... and enhancing understanding of the complaints environment in financial services.

“We endorse ASIC’s message encouraging firms to foster a positive complaints management culture that delivers quality outcomes for consumers.”

Click here for the report.