Term life products prompted the most complaints to life insurers last financial year, according to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.

ASIC’s inaugural internal dispute resolution report shows term life accounted for 41% of complaints by product, followed by income protection (22%) and funeral insurance/funeral plans (11%).

A total of 54,896 complaints relating to life insurance products were made in 2023-24, and more than $11 million of monetary remedy was provided to complainants.

Half the reported life complaints were resolved on the same day, while three-quarters were closed within eight days.

The top three issues were service-related matters (29%), general service delay (13%) and premiums (10%).

Since October 5 2021, financial companies have been required to record all complaints received through their internal dispute resolution processes, and they began submitting the data to ASIC at the start of this year.

“As the first step in the financial dispute resolution framework, internal dispute resolution plays a vital role in providing remedies and protections for consumers,” ASIC said. “It is an avenue for redress to millions of Australians who complain to financial firms each year.”

Click here for the report.