The General Insurance OmbudService (GIO) is an independent dispute resolution service that provides free help for consumers of home, auto, business insurance. OmbudService will be recognized as the destination of choice for complaint resolution for the Insurance Industry, its customers, and Governments, by being a Centre of Excellence.
GIO’s services provide consumers with an alternative solution to the courts. The primary objective is to resolve disputes efficiently and equitably.
GIO was established in 2002 to provide independent dispute resolution services for consumers. Its services are free of charge and available in English and French. It deals with issues involving claims, interpretation of policy coverage, and policy processing and handling.
Every five years, its board of directors appoints an independent third-party evaluator to conduct a review of its governance and operations. This year marks GIO’s fourth independent evaluation.
With the increase in unpredictable and extreme weather events and complex insurance claims, the availability of an independent and impartial ombudservice in the home, auto, and business insurance space continues to be a vital service for Canadians.
GIO’s experienced Consumer Service Officers will review a matter to determine if it falls within our mandate. For complaints outside of our mandate, our CSOs will review other options available to the consumer.
The GIO mission is to provide consumers of car, home and business insurance in Canada with a cost-free, independent and impartial process to resolve their complaints.
Any home, car or business insurance policy holder who has a concern, problem or dispute with a GIO member company can use our service. The types of consumer complaints that GIO generally deals with include claims, interpretation of insurance policy coverage, policy processing and handling.
GIO Consumer Service Officers can only review a case once the policy holder has received a final position letter from their insurance company.
Third-party evaluators have urged the GIO to make further enhancements to its governance, provide more support for consumers with special needs, and continue to gather feedback on customer interactions.