They might be baying for blood in New York over insurance industry activities, but the Australian industry has nothing to fear from the investigation being conducted by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) into the financial relationships between brokers and insurers.

Speaking at an Insurance Council of Australia seminar last week, Blake Dawson Waldron Partner Mark Radford said the Financial Service Reform Act is very different from its predecessor, the Insurance (Agents & Brokers) Act, when it comes to disclosing remuneration.

Mr Radford said the ASIC investigation will decide whether the sort of remuneration practices in the US have been adopted in Australia, and whether reform needs to occur.

“It’s only since the implementation of the FSRA that brokers acting for clients can potentially receive this type of remuneration so it’s a very limited issue in Australia.

“I don’t expect there to be any issues here.”

Mr Radford said ASIC “has taken a very reasonable approach” and has undertaken to speak to industry groups before the report is released.