Article list

Royal Commission response: Add-on insurance

Sale of so-called ‘add-on insurances’ has been widely criticised in Australia for some time. Here’s why: High pressure sales methods Poor value products, poorly understood Sometime a consumer is not even able to claim on the product Very high commissions for distributors Difficulty for buyers in making a considered decision Regulatory scrutiny has been intense […]

10 Jul 2019

Royal Commission response: Design and distribution obligations

From Finity & The Fold

In the last sitting week of parliament, the first piece of legislation responding to the Hayne Report was passed. New product design and distribution obligations will apply to insurers (and underwriting agencies) from 5 April 2021 requiring them to develop and document a target market determination for each retail client product. New obligations will ensure that product […]

31 May 2019

Royal Commission Response: Enforceable codes

From Finity & The Fold

This note discusses the Hayne Royal Commission recommendations 4.9 and 4.10 that the law should be amended: to provide for enforceable provisions of industry codes for the establishment and imposition of mandatory industry codes to empower the Code Governance Committee to impose sanctions for breaches of the Code. With respect to GI, Hayne recommended that […]

09 May 2019

Royal Commission Response – Claims as financial service

From Finity & The Fold

The recommendation to regulate claims handling as a ‘financial service’ impacts both general insurance and life insurance, although this analysis is limited to general insurance. The change may be more far-reaching in its impact for the general insurance industry than initially thought. A government response could be quick The government announced in February that it would move quickly […]

20 Mar 2019