The Ombudsman for Short-term insurance (OSTI) recovered just short of R100 million for consumers, an amount only marginally less than in the previous year. “This reduction in the rand recovery can be explained by the concomitant reduction in the number of files closed in 2016,” said OSTI Ombudsman Deanne Wood, who took over from Dennis Jooste on 1 March 2016.
“Dennis left behind an impressive legacy – an efficient and stable office with minimal backlogs and notable turn-around times.
“Dennis’s tenure left open for me the opportunity to consider other areas in which OSTI might improve the quality of the service that it offers to consumers and to its members,” said Wood.
During 2016 OSTI received 14 916 complaints of which 10 175 were registered as formal complaints. This reflects an increase of 780 more complaints received in 2016 compared to 2015.
The OSTI said this increase, coupled with operational changes implemented during 2016 and the focus on quality outcomes resulted in 1 313 fewer complaints closed for 2016 than in the previous year. In total, 8 631 claims were closed. Motor vehicle insurance claims which were closed to benefit the insured amounted to R59.2 million.
Wood reported that the average turnaround time per complaint was around 91 days. However, more than a third of complaints were resolved in less than 60 days. Only 6% of complaints took longer than 180 days to resolve.
According to Wood, long-standing complaints concerned matters of significant complexity and the delay in their resolution could usually be attributed to the intricacy of the evidence gathering and evaluation process required during their investigation. OSTI’s overturn rate remains constant at 27%.
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