With the states and the Federal Government running in a number of different directions over legal reforms, the ICA’s call for a consistent national approach is doomed.

None of the states has emulated NSW Premier Bob Carr’s hardline approach to tort reform, which will complicate ICA’s desire to see reforms that make lower liability premiums possible. Executive Director Alan Mason said last year’s $500 million underwriting loss on public liability by the insurance industry emphasises the enormity of the problems facing the market.

“On an industry-wide basis these figures show that the cost of public liability claims is still well in excess of the amount of premium collected,” he said. “While individual insurers will look at their own claims experience, these statistics make clear that there are still significant pressures on the affordability and availability of public liability to the community.”

He said ICA remains concerned about the lack of consistency, which will result in different amounts of compensation being handed down in different states. “Insurers are looking for predictability in claims outcomes to be able to properly price this type of insurance, and different approaches will dilute the effectiveness of reform.”

The Commonwealth seems to have accepted the inevitability of different regimes, with a spokesman for Federal Assistant Treasurer Helen Coonan reported as accepting the need for each jurisdiction to do its own thing.