Insurance Ombudsman John Price has spent 17 years adjudicating on disputed claims, and working with the insurance industry and consumer groups to build a process that emphasises fairness over what the mainstream media likes to call “fine print”. In the April/May edition of Insurance News magazine Mr Price looks back over the development of an independent claims review system.

Our latest edition also looks at how the Sydney and Queensland floods have once again turned the focus on the affordability of flood cover, land-use planning and the impacts of flood on communities.

And we examine the government review of broker remuneration. The industry says it’s a system that’s working just fine by providing businesses with affordable and ongoing advice. But can commissions survive in an environment where the big word is transparency?

The debate over gender inequality in the insurance industry isn’t going to go away, for very good reasons. You can read about the causes and effects, and what companies across the industry are doing about it.

Underwriting agencies are stepping up as insurers grapple with rising claims and falling profits. The sector is always the go-to place for brokers seeking cover for hard-to-place risks in a hard market, but our report examines how underwriting agencies have become much more than a “last option” – they’re a power in their own right.

Read all about these issues and a whole lot more in the Australian insurance industry’s most popular news magazine. Copies will be posted out to subscribers later this week, or you can access it online through insuranceNEWS.com.au.