Submission to the Review of the Financial System External Dispute Resolution Framework

This submission address the Terms of Reference of the ‘Review of the financial system external dispute resolution framework’. An expert panel comprised of Professor Ian Ramsay, Ms Julie Abramson and Mr Alan Kirkland is undertaking the review, on behalf of the Australian Government. This submission focuses on issues arising from PIAC’s Mental Health and Insurance practice. It identifies systemic problems that prevent the effectiveness of internal and extertnal dispute resolution in resolving a consumer dispute in the insurance context, making specific recommendations to improve these processes to reduce detriments experienced by consumers. Recommendations include the introduction of tighter timeframes, and adherence to those timeframes, providing consumers with better information on their options, and increasing the monetary limits for claims before the Financial Ombudsman Service.