2 November 2015

“Financial Services” has officially been added to the name of the consumer dispute resolution scheme which resolves insurance and financial services complaints.

“When the Insurance & Savings Ombudsman Scheme reached its 20th anniversary, it was time to make this change and become the Insurance & Financial Services Ombudsman Scheme,” says Karen Stevens, Insurance & Financial Services Ombudsman. “This more accurately reflects our expanded membership and the range of complaints we now resolve.”

Originally established by the insurance industry as an independent dispute resolution scheme for its customers, the IFSO Scheme now has over 4,000 Participants from across the financial services sector and resolves complaints about: insurance, investments, loans and credit, superannuation, financial advice and foreign exchange.

The name change went through an extensive consultation process, and positive feedback was received about making this change to celebrate the 20 year milestone.

“Over 55,000 consumers have made use of our free and independent service over the last 20 years and we have gained a great deal of knowledge from that work,” says Karen. “The value of that knowledge is in being able to use it to learn from the complaints and share the lessons learnt; for consumers to better understand their options and make more informed choices; and for the industry to be more focussed on preventing complaints from arising at the outset.”

The IFSO Scheme will update its online and printed material with a move to the new name, but the current website and email addresses will remain active to ensure consumers can reach the IFSO Scheme with their complaints and enquiries.

After 20 years, ISO Scheme becomes IFSO Scheme

2 November 2015