Short documents like key facts sheets being introduced to home and contents policies will help the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) in its campaign to encourage greater levels of disclosure, according to Commissioner Peter Kell.

In an exclusive interview in Insurance News (the magazine), which is being distributed this week, Mr Kell says disclosure is a vital regulatory tool, but product disclosure statements are “not ultimately helping consumer decision-making”.

“Much shorter disclosure documents with key facts statements can and will help consumers to understand important information for a variety of financial services products.”

He says ASIC also recognises that it needs other regulatory tools to deal with the conflict between the marketing of a financial product and what it actually offers. 

“I think we all understand that many consumers will have made the decision about the product or the financial service that they’re looking for based on the advertising and marketing before they get to the disclosure document,” Mr Kell said.

“So we’ve been sending some very strong messages recently that we will be taking a harder look at advertising and marketing right across the financial services arena and will be taking a tougher approach when we see advertising and marketing that isn’t up to scratch.”