{"id":1863,"date":"2021-11-26T12:34:00","date_gmt":"2021-11-26T17:34:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.olhi-oap.ca\/?p=1863"},"modified":"2026-05-08T13:00:44","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T17:00:44","slug":"what-is-an-ombudsman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/olhi-oap.ca\/en\/news\/what-is-an-ombudsman\/","title":{"rendered":"What is an ombudsman? What is alternative dispute resolution (ADR)?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

We are the OmbudService for Life and Health Insurance (OLHI).. OLHI offers an alternative dispute resolution public service that is free, bilingual, independent and impartial to Canadians with life and health insurance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sounds great so far, right? But what is an ombudsman or an ombudservice? How does alternative dispute resolution (ADR) work?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More importantly, how can an ombudsman or ADR help you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ombudsman : A brief history<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

More than 200 years ago, Sweden appointed the first Ombudsman to resolve complex problems when the King was away. The term \u201combudsman\u201d originates from \u201combuds\u201d (umbo\u00f0sma\u00f0r), which means \u201cproxy agent\u201d or \u201crepresentative\u201d in Old Norse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, there are ombudservice offices for governments, organizations, and financial institutions across the globe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Did You Know?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Over 100 countries are\u00a0members of the International Ombudsman Institute<\/a>.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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What does an Ombudsman do?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

An ombudsman can review complaints from the public about government, organizations, or financial institutions. An ombudsman\u2019s goal is to help both sides come to a resolution via mutual agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Canadian life and health insurance consumers can submit a complaint to us if they feel dissatisfied with their insurer\u2019s final position on a policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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See our Complaints process<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

If your complaint is reviewable, we can review your policy outcome. If it has merit, OLHI can offer a non-binding recommendation to your insurance company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Note: an Ombudsman is impartial.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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An ombudsman is impartial, so they don\u2019t represent the consumer\u00a0or<\/em>\u00a0the organization, which in the case of OLHI, helps build confidence in Canada\u2019s life and health insurance sector.<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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According to the International Network of Financial Services Ombudsman Schemes<\/a>, the hallmark of an ombudsman is a \u201cfree, independent, impartial, fair, timely, efficient and informal alternative dispute resolution process.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alternative Dispute Resolution in a nutshell<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

At its core, Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) is about finding fair resolutions to disputes outside the courts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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An ombudsman\u2019s goal is to help both sides come to a resolution via mutual agreement.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In other words, say you have a complaint with your life or health insurance provider,\u00a0ADR may help solve your problem without expensive, lengthy, and adversarial litigation.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Benefits of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Consider the benefits of ADR; you may thank yourself later! Alternative Dispute Resolution is:<\/p>\n\n\n\n