The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) says members should not have to release commercially sensitive data to consumers under proposed anti-discrimination laws.

The Federal Government’s human rights and anti-discrimination legislation will let insurers differentiate on the basis of sex, age or disability, but only when reasonable and based on actuarial or statistical data.

Insurers must provide the data if the consumer requests it. ICA says this is a key concern because insurers may be forced to disclose intellectual property such as pricing algorithms and other statistical and actuarial data.

“Our members advise the data that is relied upon in some product areas involves a substantial component of in-house developed data that is commercially sensitive,” it says.