Maurice Blackburn has savaged the life insurance industry’s self-regulated code of practice, calling it inadequate and a failure.

There have been more than 700 reported breaches through Maurice Blackburn alone since the code’s implementation last July, Principal Josh Mennen says.

The law firm’s submission to the financial services royal commission labels AIA, CommInsure and TAL among the worst culprits for breaches.

Mr Mennen says the industry is all talk when implementing codes, but the codes lack teeth and are doing little to drive better standards.

Maurice Blackburn wants the royal commission to recommend that codes be approved and enforced by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, with robust sanctions for failure to comply. It should also ensure codes contain standard definitions, with clear timeframes for processing claims.

While the industry has set strict timelines for processing claims and responding to complaints, some insurers have ignored these, Mr Mennen says. He says insurers remain incentivised to delay claims so they can invest assets for returns that exceed any penalty interest they will pay on an unreasonably delayed claim.

Mr Mennen also takes aim at the voluntary Insurance in Superannuation Code of Practice.

Superannuation codes of practice are unenforceable without an independent administrator, and feature all the flaws of the life insurance code of practice, he says.