SIRA consults on psychological standard, CTP support
12 October 2020
The State Insurance Regulatory Authority is consulting on a new standard of practice for managing psychological injury claims...
Regulatory & Government
Consumer watchdog scrutinises Aon-WTW merger
05 October 2020
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is looking at how the proposed merger of Aon and Willis Towers Watson would impact the provision of commercial insurance and reinsurance offerings in this country...
ASIC starts court action against Allianz over travel sales
05 October 2020
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has started civil penalty proceedings in the Federal Court against Allianz Australia and AWP Australia, alleging a misleading sale of travel insurance through three websites run by Expedia...
Regulator targets builder over insurance failure
05 October 2020
A builder has been fined $10,000 for arranging building work without having the proper insurance in place...
NZ regulator restarts insurance law review
05 October 2020
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has relaunched its planned review of the Insurance Act, months after putting it on hold because of the coronavirus pandemic...
SA doubles bushfire preparation funding
05 October 2020
South Australia has allocated nearly $100 million ahead of the upcoming bushfire season including a plan for a 50% increase in prescribed burns...
Plan to drop brokers in NSW scheme riles NIBA
28 September 2020
The National Insurance Brokers Association has criticised a NSW Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal proposal to end the mandatory use of brokers in the state’s building defects compensation scheme...
icare looks for new CEO to ‘build trust’
28 September 2020
NSW state insurer icare has started the process of recruiting a new CEO and MD following the departure of John Nagle...
Rule change to avert ‘opportunistic’ class actions extended
28 September 2020
Temporary rule changes to prevent opportunistic class actions over stock exchange disclosures during the coronavirus pandemic have been extended by six months...
SA motor insurance inquiry makes 11 proposals
28 September 2020
The SA Parliamentary Economic and Finance Committee has made 11 proposals aimed at improving the state’s motor vehicle insurance and repair sector...
New WA construction bill targets phoenix builders
28 September 2020
The WA Government plans to introduce new legislation that will close a loophole allowing so-called phoenix builders to declare bankruptcy and start in the industry again under a new business name...
COVID impacting NSW return-to-work progress
28 September 2020
NSW state insurer icare says the adverse impact of the coronavirus outbreak on return-to-work rates is likely to continue over the coming months...
ASIC holds more wrongdoers to account
28 September 2020
The latest update from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission reveals progress in enforcement action in the first half, including significant civil penalties imposed against large financial institutions such as AMP...
Court denies another class action access to insurance documents
21 September 2020
The Federal Court has again struck down an application by class action plaintiffs to access confidential insurance documents held by a respondent...
Bushfires royal commission conducts final hearings
21 September 2020
The Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements will hold its final hearings this week, with executives from IAG, Risk Frontiers and the CSIRO scheduled to appear...
NZ ombudsman says complaint management ‘improving’
21 September 2020
New Zealand’s Insurance & Financial Services Ombudsman Scheme received 3922 enquiries and investigated 282 complaints last year, according to its latest Annual Report...
Regulators sign updated accord to collaborate
21 September 2020
An updated agreement between two major regulators is expected to bring greater clarity and increased information-sharing to Australia’s financial services regulatory system...
Climate disclosure guidance ‘credit positive’ for insurers
21 September 2020
Moody’s Investors Service has described as “credit positive” the move by financial institutions including insurers to launch new voluntary guidelines for measuring the financial impacts of climate risks...
Industry welcomes legislative framework review
14 September 2020
Insurance industry representatives have welcomed an Australian Law Reform Commission review of financial services regulation legislation...
icare nominal insurer scheme lost $1.87 billion, inquiry told
14 September 2020
The icare Nominal Insurer workers’ compensation scheme had a net loss of $1.873 billion last financial year, Treasury Deputy Secretary Phil Gardner told a NSW Parliamentary committee last week...