The New Zealand Insurance & Savings Ombudsman (ISO) has been approved as an official dispute resolution service provider under new legislation.

The ombudsman received formal Government approval today, meaning the ISO scheme is now an approved dispute resolution scheme under the Financial Service Providers (Registration and Disputes Resolution) Act 2008.

The legislation is part of ongoing reform in NZ to promote confidence in the local financial services sector, after a raft of finance firm collapses.

The Act was established to regulate financial services providers and ensure access to consumer redress. It requires every financial services provider to be registered and to belong to an approved dispute resolution scheme or a reserve scheme by December 1.

Insurance & Savings Ombudsman Karen Stevens says the established scheme offers certainty and value to financial service providers.

“The purpose of the financial adviser regulation is to provide NZ consumers with the confidence and dispute resolution support to confidently seek professional advice and to have a transparent and understood process for resolving disputes,” she said.

The scheme will start taking registrations from user companies later this year.