The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) has received 650 disputes concerning the Queensland floods, Cyclone Yasi and the Victorian floods.

In the first six months of this year, it received 482 complaints regarding the Queensland floods, 116 relating to the Victorian event and 52 for Cyclone Yasi.

FOS says in its annual report released this morning that as well as handling individual disputes, staff also attended many meetings with communities, industry groups and legal service workers to explain how it handled disputes.

“We have also phoned victims of the disasters or met with them one-on-one to discuss their concerns, and we set up a natural disaster phone hotline and email address to respond to enquiries,” the report says.

“FOS has also engaged in the broader policy discussions about the natural disasters by contributing to various inquiries.

“One of our main messages to these inquiries has been that clear, consistent communication from insurers is crucial to avoiding disputes about insurance cover.”

Total insurance disputes for the 2010/11 financial year were 9974 – up from 7964 in the previous period.

Overall disputes covering all financial services products rose to 30,283, with credit-related products accounting for almost half of this figure.

The number of disputes resolved during the reporting period was 28,826.

Chief Financial Ombudsman Shane Tregillis says the 2010/11 financial year was challenging for many consumers, the industry and the service. 

“This is reflected in the increase in the number of disputes we received and resolved,” he said. 

“Going forward, FOS will continue to enhance its role as the trusted, independent organisation helping consumers and financial service providers fairly resolve and reduce disputes.”