ISO no longer?

Its terms of reference are being reviewed in line with Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act changes and recommendations made in a 2013 review of the scheme.

The proposed changes, to come into effect by July 1, include a name change, to become the Insurance and Financial Services Ombudsman Scheme, an increase in the weekly monetary limit for regular payments about which the ISO can make decisions and the timeframe for making complaints.

Ombudsman Karen Stevens said the scheme had been operating for 20 years and its name was no longer an accurate description of its activities.

In 1995, the “savings” component of the name related to investments placed through insurance-related companies.  But she said the ISO now covered very few savings entities and had a much wider reach.