The insurer plateau: two years of elevated disputes
For insurance professionals, the most operationally significant reading in FSCL’s data is not the headline figure. Insurer disputes at FSCL held at 64 cases in 2025/26, compared with 63 the prior year – but that near-flat result follows a move from 46 cases in 2023/24, representing a roughly 39% increase sustained over two consecutive years without reversal. That pattern holds across both of New Zealand’s approved dispute resolution schemes. The Insurance & Financial Services Ombudsman Scheme (IFSO Scheme) accepted a record 600 disputes for investigation in the year from July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025 – a 25% increase from the previous year. Of those disputes, 67% related to general insurance products such as house, contents, motor, and travel policies, with house insurance making up nearly a quarter of all complaints, motor vehicle at 19%, and travel at 18%.
Read More: NZ dispute volumes break records as insurer complaints hold at two-year
