Mr Costello might have been blowing a bit of warmth on the HIH Royal Commissioner’s five-month-old recommendations, but the Insurance Council says it wants to see some real action. It says in order to provide optimum insurer stability and enhanced consumer protection, the Government should act on the recommendations as soon as possible. 

Insurance Council of Australia Executive Director Alan Mason says the insurance industry strongly supports the HIH Royal Commission recommendations and hopes the Government “won’t veer too far away” from the original proposals.

The council considers the recommendations for a ministerial council to discuss and resolve general insurance issues, the introduction of the policyholder protection scheme and the extension of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority's (APRA) powers to cover all insurance-like products to be the most important. Mr Mason says the Government should also make APRA the sole regulator of insurance products.