Key Consumer Complaint Trends (January to June 2025)
While handling consumer disputes, the GIO team identifies trends in the topics being raised by consumers. The GIO team identified the following trends during the first half of 2025:
- We have noticed an increased number of consumers reporting that the insurer is taking an unexpectedly long time to investigate claims and determine coverage, which puts the consumer in a financially impacted position. While this is related to claims delay complaints, reports of this particular issue have risen over the first half of the year.
- There is an increase in complaints where consumers report not receiving registered cancellation notices and are encountering difficulty obtaining support from insurers when attempting to make a payment.
- An increased number of consumers have reached out to GIO regarding unclear guidance and poor communication from their insurer during the claims process. In particular, there is a lack of communication regarding the next steps to be taken by the consumer to mitigate losses and to commence restoration or repairs.
- There are ongoing complaints relating to the lack of communication from insurers about legislated complaint mechanisms available to consumers during the complaint escalation process, resulting in frustration when GIO re-routes them.
Kindly note that these trends are industry-wide and not specific to any single company.
Rising Claims Delays
There is a noticeable uptick in complaints about delayed claims handling, with many consumers struggling to get in contact with their insurer for updates.
Early 2024 showed a relative dip in delay volumes (hitting a low of 40 files in March 2024), but this quickly shifted. Starting in August 2024, there was an increase — peaking at 87 in October 2024 and remaining elevated through year-end. The upward trajectory has continued into 2025, with the first six months averaging 79 files per month, significantly higher than the monthly average of 61 in 2024. January 2025 hit the highest single-month volume in the 17-month period, with 93 delay files.
While there was an initial downward trend in complaints about claims processing delays, the first six months of 2025 have shown that claims delays are increasing to numbers we had seen in the past when the systemic issue was first raised.
Claims Delays Trends (2020-2025):
Below are the claims delay numbers by year from 2020 to 2025 (up to June 30, 2025). The reporting period for each year is January 1 – December 31.
From 2020 to 2024, claims delays complaints exhibited significant fluctuation, with a sharp escalation beginning in 2022, peaking at 965 delays in 2023—more than triple the 2021 total. This surge reflects the systemic issue GIO identified and reported to IBC in 2023. However, the 21.7% reduction in 2024 to 756 delays suggests early improvements in process oversight and claims handling. Notably, the 2025 data suggests the numbers of claims delay complaints will be higher than 2024.
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Photo: Christin Hume