The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) will launch its revised General Insurance Code of Practice tomorrow, which will take effect from July 1 next year.

It will create a new “code governance committee” of three industry and three consumer representatives, replacing the code compliance committee.

Provisions on financial hardship and timeframes for making claims and complaints have also been clarified.

A new website is to be set up, while the code itself has been rewritten in plain English to make it easier for consumers to understand.

Lawyer Ian Enright began reviewing the code in May 2012 and delivered a report with 60 recommendations in May last year.

The ICA board approved the final version in February this year, although many of Mr Enright’s recommendations were not acted on. Since then it has worked on the governance framework for the code’s operation.