Written by · Reviewed by Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver — licensed Financial Advice Provider (FSP712931) · Last updated 2026-10-20

Insurance Disputes and IFSO Ombudsman NZ

To dispute an insurance decision in New Zealand, complain to the insurer first and ask for its reasons in writing. The insurer has up to 2 months to resolve it. If it cannot resolve it, you reach "deadlock", and you then usually have 3 months to take the complaint to its approved dispute scheme. For most insurers that is the Insurance & Financial Services Ombudsman (IFSO) Scheme, which is free for consumers (IFSO FAQs).

In short

A person presses the bell at a service counter, a thick folder of papers spread open in front of them

What are your rights when an insurer says no?

An insurance dispute is a disagreement over a claim decision, a premium or the way an insurer has treated you. You are not stuck with the first answer. The insurer must have a complaints process, and behind it sits an independent scheme that does not charge you. What the scheme can do is limited to what the policy says and what the law allows: it looks at whether the insurer applied the policy fairly, not whether you wish the cover were wider.

IFSO's published case studies include a claim reduced over something not disclosed at application, a premium that rose when a level-premium policy changed form, and a funeral policy whose premiums could exceed the payout (all covered below). Before you complain, read your policy wording and schedule. The reason you were given should point to a clause, and you should be able to find it.

Step 1: Complain to the insurer and ask for reasons in writing

Contact the insurer's complaints team, then follow up in writing so there is a record. Say what the decision was, what you want instead and why you think it is wrong. Ask which clause of the policy the insurer relied on.

Insurers publish how to reach them. Momentum Life, for example, takes complaints on 0800 108 108 or at [email protected], and says it acknowledges a complaint within 2 business days (Momentum Life: Complaints, retrieved 20 October 2026). Its Quick Life wording says the complaints manager aims to reply within 10 business days and that internal dispute resolution aims for a formal response within 2 months, after which a letter of deadlock follows and you have up to 3 months to go to IFSO (Momentum Life: Quick Life Insurance Policy Wording, November 2025). Other insurers set out their own steps in their policy documents or on their complaints pages, so look there for their contact details and dates.

If you use a licensed adviser, tell them too. An adviser deals with insurers regularly and can sometimes clear up a misunderstanding quickly. Ask how they are paid: the FMA says most insurance advisers receive commission from the insurer (FMA: Insurance advice).

Step 2: When can you go to an external scheme?

You can go to the scheme once one of two things happens. Either the provider cannot resolve the complaint (IFSO calls this "deadlock"), or it has not been resolved after 2 months. IFSO's rule is that the provider gets up to 2 months, and that you usually have 3 months from the date you are told you have reached deadlock to refer the complaint (IFSO FAQs). Write the date of the letter in your diary the day it arrives. These are scheme rules, not a statute, so check them on the scheme's own site before you rely on a date.

An adviser leans across a small table, tracing a finger down a page covered in squiggly scribble lines

IFSO and the other schemes: which one handles your dispute?

Which scheme applies depends on the business, not the product. The one you want is named in the insurer's policy documents or on its complaints page. Being on the Financial Service Providers Register does not mean a business is licensed or FMA-regulated (FMA: Disputes and consumer protection).

Complaint about Scheme What we can confirm
Momentum Life Limited (Funeral Insurance, Quick Life) IFSO Both wordings name IFSO, 0800 888 202, ifso.nz; IFSO's assessment "is binding on Momentum Life". The scheme is IFSO, not the Financial Dispute Resolution Service
Other life, funeral and health insurers The scheme named in its documents We have not confirmed each insurer's scheme. Read its policy document or complaints page
QuoteHub's own service (Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver) Financial Dispute Resolution Service Set out on our disclosure page. Keep this separate from complaints about a product
A bank The scheme the bank names Check the bank's own page; the Banking Ombudsman Scheme is one of the four

We do not publish FSCL's steps, time limits or caps. Its website blocked our reading on 20 October 2026, so name the scheme from your provider's documents and follow that scheme's own published rules.

IFSO covers insurers, credit providers and advisers, among others, that are Participants in the scheme. Its service is described as independent, fair and free for consumers (IFSO FAQs).

What can IFSO order, and what are the limits?

IFSO's limits for a deadlock on or after 18 July 2024 are $500,000 plus GST, or $2,798 plus GST a week for regular payments. Special Compensation of up to $10,000 plus GST is available, but only for an unusual amount (IFSO FAQs, read 20 October 2026). For deadlocks between 1 September 2023 and 17 July 2024 the limits were lower: $350,000, $2,625 a week and $5,000. Limits change, so confirm the current figures on ifso.nz.

An IFSO assessment binds both you and the insurer only if you accept it. If you do not accept it, you keep the right to go to court. IFSO says it investigates disputes that are not resolved by the provider, and that many of those are resolved in under 90 days; some are complex and take longer (IFSO FAQs).

If the amount is over IFSO's limit, or you reject the outcome, the next step is a court or tribunal. The Disputes Tribunal handles small claims up to $60,000 (Disputes Tribunal, retrieved 20 October 2026). Larger claims go to the District Court or High Court, where the current limits and costs are worth checking with a lawyer or Community Law before you start.

What IFSO's published cases show

IFSO publishes anonymised case studies. These cases are worth reading before you complain, because they show where complaints succeed and fail.

In December 2025 IFSO said insurers should warn customers that they may pay more in premiums than they get back, in the policy, on the website and in advertising, and that without the warning it is likely to uphold a complaint (IFSO media release). The same logic is why the wording on this site always says total premiums can exceed a funeral benefit.

If the complaint is about a Momentum Life product

Two early-window rules matter on guaranteed-acceptance cover, so know them before you rely on a policy. Momentum's Funeral Insurance pays in the first 24 months only if death is the direct result of an accident and happens within 90 days of it; any other death in that window pays no benefit and all premiums for that person are refunded. Quick Life excludes pre-existing conditions and suicide for the first 2 years, and refunds premiums if a pre-existing-condition death in that period leaves no claim payable. Both are in the wordings, so a decision that follows them is not a mistake, though you can still ask the insurer to show how it applied them. For Funeral Insurance, total premiums can also end up larger than the benefit, and the benefit may not cover a whole funeral.

Momentum Life Limited has an A.M. Best financial strength rating of B (Fair), affirmed on 11 February 2026, which Momentum's own financial strength page groups under "Vulnerable" (Momentum Life: Financial strength). See how the rating scale works in our insurance glossary. Momentum publishes no claims statistics, so no figure here compares its dispute record with another insurer's.

Which insurer receives the most complaints?

We cannot rank insurers by complaints, and we do not know of a sourced ranking. Claims-paid percentages exist but are defined differently by each insurer. Three insurers publish them: Asteron Life reported 97% of the trauma, life and income protection claims it received from 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024 paid (Asteron Life), Partners Life 95% of assessed claims for the year to 31 March 2025 (Partners Life) and Fidelity Life 93% for the year to 30 June 2025 (Fidelity Life). A paid rate does not tell you how many claims were declined, withdrawn or never made, so do not treat it as a complaint league table.

How to document your dispute

  1. Keep every document. The application, policy wording, schedule, decision letters, claim forms and medical reports. Date each phone call and note the name of the person.
  2. Ask for the clause. The insurer's reasons should refer to specific words in your wording. Quote them back in your complaint.
  3. State the outcome you want. A reversed decision, a larger payment or a corrected premium. IFSO needs to know what to assess.
  4. Be factual. Keep to dates, documents and the clause. Complaints that read as a timeline are easier to assess.
  5. Meet the dates. The 2-month wait and the 3-month window are the two to diarise.
  6. Do not hold back information. If non-disclosure is alleged, answer fully and ask for the insurer's evidence that it would have acted differently.

When to involve a licensed adviser

A licensed financial adviser can read the decision against your wording, help you draft the complaint, or explain what a deadlock letter means. They cannot make an insurer pay and cannot promise a result. If you do not have an adviser, QuoteHub can connect you with one at QuoteHub's cover check. QuoteHub is a Momentum Life partner, and Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver may receive a commission if you buy through our link; see how we are paid.

Frequently asked questions

Does the IFSO Scheme cost anything?

No. IFSO is free for consumers. It covers insurers, credit providers, advisers and KiwiSaver providers that are Participants (IFSO FAQs).

Can I complain straight to IFSO?

Not first. You complain to the provider, which has up to 2 months. After deadlock you usually have 3 months to refer the complaint.

Can I still go to court after IFSO?

Yes, if you do not accept IFSO's assessment, because it binds both sides only if you accept it.

What is the difference between IFSO and the FMA?

IFSO resolves individual complaints about members. The FMA is the regulator; it takes complaints about wider issues but "can't obtain remedies for individuals" (FMA).

Is this page legal advice?

No. It is general information. For your own dispute, read the scheme's site, or ask a lawyer or Community Law.

Where to go next

Our guides explain how to claim on a life policy, how a life policy works and how funeral insurance disputes arise. For the companies themselves, see our life insurance company pages and the Momentum Life Quick Life and Funeral Insurance plan pages. Guaranteed-acceptance products are covered under guaranteed acceptance, and funeral cover under funeral insurance. The buttons on this page lead to Momentum's own online quote.

Financial advice is provided by Craig Smith Business Services Limited, trading as Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver, a licensed Financial Advice Provider (FSP712931). QuoteHub is a trading name. This article is general information and not advice. Reviewed by the QuoteHub Adviser Team; last reviewed 20 October 2026.

References

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