The number of new complaints to the UK’s Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) grew 38% to a record high of 575,836 last year.

However, insurance grievances fell 7% compared with 2012.

In the six months to December 31, UK Insurance prompted the most new general insurance complaints (1399), followed by Axa (573), Aviva (515), HSBC (496) and Ageas (450).

About 76% of all complaints in the six months concerned payment protection insurance (PPI), with 56% upheld.

Chief Ombudsman Tony Boorman says the number of new PPI cases remains “depressingly high” and the UK is a long way from putting the scandal to bed, with 1000 people a day referring such grievances to FOS.

However, the “extraordinary volumes of financial complaints we saw last year now look as if they’re starting to level off at last – and that has to be welcome news for everyone”.

The 51% average rate of upheld complaints is still “stubbornly high”, and shows financial services companies are not addressing customer complaints adequately, he says.

Outside PPI complaints, the number of cases in the second half was 55,747, down 8% on the first half.