General insurers must ensure comparison advertisements feature products with sufficiently similar attributes, according to new regulatory guidelines. 

When different products are compared, the differences should be made clear, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) guide states.

The guidelines also cover aggregators and comparison sites. ASIC says any awards or product ratings should be transparent.

“Aggregators should disclose any links to the providers of the products being compared, including commissions, referral fees, payments for inclusion in comparisons or payments for ‘featured’ products,” the guide says.

“A warning should be included if not all providers are included in the comparison.”

Explanatory information on rankings should be included and if product comparisons are not like-for-like there must be a clear warning.

Commissioner Peter Kell says the guide builds on ASIC’s commitment to clear, accurate and balanced financial services advertising.

“This guidance includes a number of additional explanatory comments and examples to illustrate best practice when it comes to advertising products and services,” he said.

“It is intended to help industry participants avoid making false or misleading statements or engaging in misleading or deceptive conduct.”

The regulator says it has the power to stop ads and warns of penalties under the Corporations Act for misleading promotions.

“ASIC has shown it will take swift action when confronted with misleading or deceptive advertising,” Mr Kell said. “When we see false claims, we will seek outcomes that involve potentially stronger penalties than we have sought in the past.”