Catholic Church Insurance (CCI) paid around $30 million in compensation and counselling costs to about 600 victims of abuse from clergy in Victoria, a statement to a parliamentary inquiry has heard.

The inquiry, scheduled to report to the Victorian Parliament by September 30, has also heard from groups including the Catholic Diocese of Ballarat, the Salesians order and the Hospitallers of St John of God.

CCI CEO Peter Rush says in a summary statement on the group’s website that the insurer applied a prior-knowledge test, under which no claim was paid for abuse if it was discovered the insured knew of a person’s propensity to offend.

It has never provided cover to any person who has sexually abused a child, he says.

According to a report in The Age newspaper, Mr Rush says it is quite likely CCI once told bishops to “admit nothing”, as claimed by former Ballarat bishop Peter Connors at the inquiry.

“In the early 1990s that would have been the way we advised our clients, quite wrongly,” Mr Rush said.

LMI Group MD Allan Manning says not admitting liability was probably a standard aspect of insurance policies at the time, but the handling of abuse claims in this way led to greater problems.

“I don’t think it was ever written to hide the truth,” Dr Manning told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

“I am very much against sweeping things under the carpet.”