Introduction of the ombudsman institute in the insurance market of Ukraine

Abstract

The insurance industry plays an important role in the economy, contributing to the intermediation and risk-bearing mechanism. At the same time, the insurance industry contributes to socio-economic growth due to accumulated long-term financial resources that can be directly used in the economy. The purpose of the article is to develop recommendations on the possibility of creating an insurance ombudsman institute in Ukraine based on international experience. The set goal determined the solution of the following tasks: to investigate the legal aspects of the activity of the financial ombudsman in different countries and provide their comparative characteristics; to determine the specifics of the implementation in Ukraine of the alternative dispute resolution mechanism on the insurance market; justify the benefits of activating the activity of the insurance ombudsman institute in Ukraine. In the process of carrying out a scientific search, such general scientific methods as: abstract-logical; monographic; comparative; graphic; dialectical method; comparative legal method; structural-functional method. The peculiarities of the functioning of the relevant alternative mechanisms for resolving insurance disputes in different countries, the mechanisms for dealing with customer complaints, and the resolution of disputes with the participation of a professional mediator were studied. It was determined that in world practice, two main models of financial ombudsmen are usually distinguished: British and German. It is substantiated that the introduction of the insurance ombudsman institute in Ukraine as an alternative platform for considering complaints will have advantages for all participants of the insurance market.It has been proven that the activities of such an institution can consider disputes related to settlement of claims, wrongful sale, payment of insurance premiums, legal registration of the policy, delay of settlements, failure to issue insurance documents, etc. Such an insurance ombudsman institution will be responsible for protecting the interests and handling policyholder complaints, and the main purpose of the ombudsman’s activities is to handle policyholder complaints outside the court system in a cost-effective and impartial manner

Keywords

• insurance companies
• insurance market
• dispute resolution
• protection of consumer rights
• consumers of insurance services