Ladies and Gentlemen, we are fully aware that expanding the Ombudsman Scheme to cover the insurance industry will present special challenges. If we can judge from the number of complaints received by the Market Conduct Unit (some 425 in about 10 months) the office is likely to get very busy. But we think that we are well prepared.
In terms of the organizational arrangements for the Financial Services Ombudsman (FSO), the current staff from the Banking Services Ombudsman Office will be supplemented, at the beginning, with two transfers from FISD. In addition, technical assistance will be sourced from a panel of insurance experts with the required knowledge and experience.