Supporting the fair treatment of consumers in Ontario
Ontario’s financial services regulator, FSRA, believes companies providing home insurance can improve their claims handling processes to better support the fair treatment of consumers.
This was the conclusion of FSRA’s first Home Insurance Thematic Review of 20 property and casualty (P&C) insurers in the province.
Market intelligence suggests that consumers have been experiencing service delays in the adjustment and settlement of home insurance claims. At the same time, there has been increased pressure on P&C insurers due to rising claim costs, inflation, and supply chain issues. For these reasons, FSRA initiated the thematic review with a focus on home insurance claims to better understand the customer claim journey.
Although FSRA believes that overall insurers are working to provide fair resolutions to consumers with home insurance claims, the review did identify the following areas of potential risk to consumers:
- different insurers take different amounts of time to settle claims
- the proof of loss form policyholders submit to their insurers to make a claim is not used and tracked consistently
- some insurers cannot demonstrate that they are properly overseeing adjusters
- some insurers do not sufficiently track and report the reasons claims are denied
- in some cases, communication with customers does not happen regularly or sufficiently
FSRA urges insurers to use the report as a point of reference to improve their claims practices and align their policies and procedures with industry standards and FSRA’s documented expectations.
FSRA encourages consumers to protect their property through well-informed insurance decisions and read FSRA’s advice on navigating property insurance.
The outcomes of FSRA’s review will inform the development of FSRA’s Market Conduct Supervision Framework for P&C Insurance, announced last summer. P&C insurers will be subject to proactive supervision under the Framework, enabling FSRA to be more efficient and effective in identifying and addressing potential consumer risks.
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FSRA continues to work on behalf of all stakeholders, including consumers, to ensure financial safety, fairness, and choice for everyone.
Learn more at www.fsrao.ca.