OmbudService for Life & Health Insurance reports on banner year and plans for growth

TORONTO, Sept. 20, 2016 /CNW/ - Canada's OmbudService for Life & Health Insurance (OLHI) held its annual general meeting and released its annual report for 2015/16, announcing plans for growth.

Highlights:

• Public contacts exceed 86,000
• Complaint investigations increase by 27.6%
• Settlement ratio in favour of the consumer climbs to 80% at investigation stage
• All final, non-binding recommendations accepted

"OLHI's five-year strategic plan is our road map to continued success, with six key markers we need to pass along our travels," said Chair Dr. Janice MacKinnon at the meeting on September 15, 2016. "Among these goals are a broader public profile and high stakeholder satisfaction, with increased visibility outside central Canada. To accomplish this, we have made key investments in a new case management system and website – true game-changers that transform the way OLHI does business."

The new infrastructure responds to stakeholder needs for accessibility, transparency and efficiency, as well as higher quality information and an even better consumer experience.

For fiscal 2015/16, public contacts of more than 86,000 matched historic levels. Complaint investigations increased 27.6% over last year and doubled the number two years ago. As has been the case since OLHI's inception, all final, non-binding recommendations were accepted by the insurance company and the consumer was paid quickly.

"We are always refining our process to ensure all complaints with merit are thoroughly investigated," said Holly Nicholson, Executive Director. "At the same time, we can't lose sight of the fact that most complaints are settled either by the insurance company directly or by OLHI before consumers reach our investigation stage."

Also this past year, OLHI renewed its Framework for Collaboration with its oversight body, the Canadian Council of Insurance Regulators. This Framework ensures OLHI meets its public service mandate.

For more detail on OLHI's operations, including case studies and statistics, the full 2015/16 Annual Report is available at http://olhi.ca/news-publications/annual-report/.

About the OmbudService for Life & Health Insurance
The OmbudService for Life & Health Insurance (OLHI) is Canada's independent complaint resolution and information service for consumers of Canadian life and health insurance. This includes life, disability, employee health benefits, travel, and insurance investment products such as annuities and segregated funds. OLHI's free, bilingual services are available to any consumer whose life or health insurer is an OLHI member; currently, 99% of Canadian life and health insurers are OLHI members. To ensure impartiality, OLHI's operations are overseen by the Canadian Council of Insurance Regulators (CCIR). For more information, visit www.olhi.ca.

SOURCE OmbudService for Life & Health Insurance

Media contact: Andrea Zviedris, 416-777-2962, [email protected]