A uniform approach to personal injury cover is the best solution to the current crisis in medical indemnity, according to IAG Deputy CEO Ian Brown.

In a commentary in The Australian newspaper, Mr Brown said the medical indemnity crisis is a small part of a much bigger problem affecting the entire industry – long-tail personal injury claims.

He said a “level playing field”, where all insurers are subject to the same rules for capital adequacy and solvency, is the first step in finding a real solution. “Then we need a scheme designed and regulated in a way that strikes a fair balance between capacity to pay and the support for injured people. This means titling the benefits towards the most seriously injured people.”

Mr Brown said only a nationally unified approached will work: “the present patchwork of different arrangements to do essentially the same thing creates huge costs for the industry and makes it much more difficult to break down the compo culture.”

“If we can achieve a degree of uniformity and consistency, it will be a huge step forward for Australia,” he said.