The NSW State Insurance Regulatory Authority (SIRA) has issued a letter of censure to compulsory third party insurer AAMI for failing to comply with an obligation to report a significant matter.

The regulator says AAMI is required to report significant matters to SIRA within five days under the insurer’s standard licence conditions and the Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017 (MAIA Act).

On March 16, the Personal Injury Commission Review Panel issued a direction to the parties in the matter of Obeid v AAI Ltd t/as AAMI. AAMI received the direction from its solicitors on March 21.

“A SIRA investigation found that the direction had a significant impact on the motor accident scheme as it found that the Personal Injury Commission had no jurisdiction to hear claims for future medical treatment expenses under the MAIA Act,” SIRA said.

“In May 2022, SIRA required AAMI to provide an analysis of its failure to notify SIRA of a significant matter and implement a remediation plan. AAMI has complied with these requirements.

“On 11 July 2022, SIRA sent a show cause notice to AAMI outlining the findings of the investigation. AAMI has accepted the findings.”

SIRA says the Obeid v AAI Ltd t/as AAMI determination resulted in amendments to the MAIA Act in June 2022 to remove the ambiguity highlighted.

“The amendments clarified that the Personal Injury Commission does have jurisdiction to hear claims for future medical treatment expenses,” it said.