The latest revision of the General Insurance Code of Practice is on track for a January introduction following a lengthy review period complicated by the Hayne royal commission.

Insurance Council of Australia CEO Rob Whelan says a final draft is set to go to the board for sign-off at the end of next month following a “long journey”, paving the way for a one-year transition period starting next year.

“It is like trying to pitch a tent in the middle of a hurricane, trying to redo your code right in the middle of the Hayne royal commission,” he told the Claims Convention in Sydney last week. “But we are now at a point where we have a near-final draft of the revised code.”

Commissioner Kenneth Hayne recommended that industry codes should identify enforceable code provisions, where breaches are punishable by law, but he gave ICA until June 30 2021 to finalise its selections, given the current code review timeframe.

Mr Whelan says that process will come down to looking at what is not already enforced through a raft of new legislation triggered by the royal commission, product design and distribution reforms and other changes.

The existing code took effect on July 1 2014, with a 12-month transition period and ICA began work on an update in 2017. A review last year made 30 recommendations for the final version.