Consumer organisation Choice says a British proposal to make finance sector firms publish their complaints data has merit and could improve transparency if adopted in Australia.

The UK financial regulator has floated the idea of requiring firms to publish information on the number of complaints they have received, the main products and services affected and how quickly they are resolved.

The Financial Services Authority says companies would publish industry-wide data every six months.

Companies would be required to publish their own results, with firms receiving the largest number of complaints publishing information on how many complaints they have dealt with, the percentage settled within eight weeks and the number of claims upheld.

Australian consumer groups have called before for the Insurance Ombudsman to provide such a service.

Choice spokesman Christopher Zinn told insuranceNEWS.com.au the publishing of complaints would provide the “missing piece” in the Financial Ombudsman Service system in that it would show how many complaints are actually made.

“There’s only a limited number of disputed claims that actually make their way as far as the ombudsman,” he said.

“But we really don’t know how many people fall off the edge because they give up on the process.”