The Financial Ombudsman Service reports that it has seen a significant increase in the number of new disputes received. It experienced an average 45.4% rise across all divisions in the six months to 31 December 2008, compared with the same period in 2007. This reflected a substantial 85.5% rise in new disputes within Investments, Life Insurance & Superannuation, a 33% rise in General Insurance disputes and 17.8% in Banking & Finance.