Eleven Victorian “taxi clubs” have been served notice by APRA for illegally offering local taxi owners and drivers comprehensive insurance for their taxis. 

Taxi clubs are mutual aid schemes. Usually they are exempt under the Insurance Act, but APRA wants evidence to show that these clubs are operating a business of insurance in line with the Act. They have 14 days to demonstrate how they’re not in breach of the Act.

If they fail to do so they then have 21 days to choose between making an application to become an authorised insurer, restructuring to become a standard mutual scheme or shut down operations.

APRA’s main concern is that these unauthorised schemes do not have the required capital to deal with many claims at once.