The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) has pushed backed calls from consumer advocates for a national pricing monitor, saying there is no evidence to back up their claims of “price gouging" by insurers.

Last week the Consumer Law Action Centre, Choice and Financial Rights Legal Centre joined forces to launch the latest pressure campaign against the industry, urging Canberra make it a “national priority” to set up a federal pricing watchdog before the next bushfire season.

They say the closure last week of the NSW Emergency Services Levy (ESL) Insurance Monitor’s office will leave a void in consumer protection.

But ICA spokesman Campbell Fuller says the critics have provided “no evidence that substantiates allegations of price gouging”.

He also rejects the groups’ claims that the ESL Monitor is necessary to prevent price gouging. Mr Fuller told insuranceNEWS.com.au that in the case of the ESL, “some insurers self-reported minor over-collection of a complex and variable tax on customers, and many insurers have also significantly under-collected the ESL”.

Mr Fuller says the industry is already one of the most heavily regulated in the country, having to comply with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission as well as the General Insurance Code of Practice.

The NSW Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal and similar bodies in other states and territories also provide additional layers of protection for insurance customers, he says.

The consumer advocates say work done by the NSW Monitor has yielded important findings, such as pricing trends data and the so-called “loyalty tax” that penalises consumers with higher premiums when they choose to stay with the same insurer.