The insurance industry is actively exploring ways to rescue HIH claimants. And according to sacked NRMA CEO Eric Dodd – who was also President of the Insurance Council – it was only a matter of days away when he stepped down and the bid stalled.

That’s the claim made by Mr Dodd in his unprecedented interview with Channel 9’s Business Sunday program. He said that in his short period as ICA President he was working with the office of Financial Services & Regulation Minister Joe Hockey, APRA and other insurers “to put together a rescue package”.

He said his sacking from NRMA caused the rescue package to “stall somewhat”, and that a decision was only “a matter of days, perhaps a week or two” away from being finalised at that time.  

The industry’s attempts to restore public confidence must focus on the stranded HIH claimants, many of whom are experiencing extreme hardship. But the chances of a successful package being put together was seen by insiders as being fraught with difficulty. Not least of those is the lack of any solid knowledge on the size of the HIH shortfall. Estimates now range between $800 million and $4 billion.

The lack of a real figure has kept Mr Hockey quiet. He told last week’s APRA conference in Sydney that the Government won’t become directly involved in claims relief without knowing what it’s letting itself in for. “No one can quantify the size of the losses, and it would be a foolhardy government that would seek to solve a problem without being able to quantify the size of that problem first,” he said.

Taking a political swipe at NSW Premier Bob Carr, who has called for a levy on policies to pay claims, Mr Hockey said Mr Carr must take responsibility for its CTP and workers’ comp claims at least and “follow the advice of his own bureaucrats”.