Is a long-cherished dream of the general insurance industry to be realised after many years of argument? Maybe, after Financial Services & Regulation Minister Joe Hockey called for all classes of general insurance to have uniform national regulation.

The Minister told ICA’s annual dinner in Sydney last week that it’s time for regulation and taxation of insurance to be simplified. It’s a big call on an issue that has hampered the industry for many years.

ICA has been lobbying governments for years on the additional cost caused by regulatory duplication. Mr Hockey said it was “unrealistic and unfair” that insurance operates under an array of different regulatory and tax regimes across the country, with the tax take of the states now exceeding $3 billion.

He said the Federal Government is prepared to support the development of uniform national schemes for workers’ comp, CTP and builders’ warranty.

Not surprisingly, ICA Executive Manager Alan Mason is delighted with the development. He said the Minister’s statement is very encouraging.

“This situation is most evident in a plethora of state legislation covering compulsory classes of insurance,” he said. “It is in addition to the duplication of taxes on insurance at a state and federal level, including state and territory stamp duty being levied on insurance policies after the addition of GST – creating a tax on tax effect.”

Actually making it happen is a long way from encouraging words from a minister in a government facing a life-or-death election. But it is a positive move if the industry can build some momentum behind the issue. Trouble is, getting uniform acceptance from the states may be difficult, especially for those states which pillage premiums with added-on taxes.

Mr Mason acknowledged that to achieve uniform national regulation would require a co-operative effort between the Commonwealth and the states along the same lines as the uniform credit code.

“The insurance industry will give the Commonwealth and the States any assistance it can to achieve a single regime,” he said.