The Treasury has released for consultation the draft bill for the Financial Accountability Regime (FAR or the Regime). The Regime will apply to the banking, superannuation and insurance sectors. Importantly, the Regime strengthens the Banking Executive Accountability Regime (BEAR), and extends the regime, in line with the recommendations from the Financial Services Royal Commission, to … Continue Reading
Following the release of the Royal Commission final report earlier this year, the Treasury has now released draft legislation that will make insurance claims handling a financial service under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth). This will give the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) greater supervisory responsibility over claims handling and require that these activities … Continue Reading
In response to Opposition calls for a Royal Commission into the banking sector, the Australian Government has announced a $127 million reform package aimed at increasing the powers of Australia’s corporate watchdog, ASIC. A key component of that package will be the accelerated implementation of two key recommendations of the Financial System Inquiry: an obligation on … Continue Reading
In his recent speech at the Insurance Council of Australia Annual Forum ASIC’s Peter Kell delivered a scathing commentary on the state of the add-on insurance market, saying that the industry had made insufficient progress towards delivering better consumer outcomes in the area and sounded a warning: if ASIC is still raising similar concerns in … Continue Reading
Continued market consolidation, technology driven disruption and a shift towards behavioural based conduct regulation were the standout themes in the Australian insurance sector over the last 12 months. We take a brief look at the year that was and share our thoughts on what 2016 looks like. Keep ahead or be left behind: rise of … Continue Reading
Just as telematics has been supplementing motor vehicle insurance underwriting, Australia’s health and life insurance markets are embracing innovative technologies in the form of “wearables”. Underwriters traditionally rely on pre-policy questionnaires and proposal forms to assess risk and set the terms of cover they will accept; however, the information that can be obtained provides only … Continue Reading
The release of ASIC’s corporate plan for the coming three years marks the beginning of a new era of conduct regulation in Australia; one in which organisations may face enforcement action for having a culture that is not adequately consumer-centric or for taking advantage of consumer biases which lead to poor consumer decision making. We … Continue Reading
The Government has given its support to a “user pays” industry funding model for ASIC in line with the recommendations of the Financial System Inquiry (FSI). A consultation paper has been issued today by Assistant Treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, detailing how the funding model will work. The new funding model will require the biggest users of … Continue Reading
ASIC continues to reshape its approach to enforcement, with the focus on disclosure having shifted sharply in the last year to a focus on delivering better consumer outcomes. In the last 12 months, we have been discussing ASIC’s use of behavioural economic theory and the spectre of UK regulation that underpins ASIC’s drive towards product … Continue Reading
On 22 June 2015, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) released a letter to all Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of general insurers, Level 2 insurance groups and life companies (collectively, the insurers) encouraging them to adopt better public disclosure practices for prudential matters. The current capital adequacy framework for insurers is based on a three … Continue Reading
Recent enforcement action by ASIC against collapsed payday lender, the Cash Store Pty Ltd (TCS), has put the sale of consumer credit insurance (CCI) into sharp focus. On 19 February 2015, the Federal Court awarded penalties against TCS and its loan funder, Assistive Finance Australia Pty Ltd (AFA) of almost $19 million. It found that … Continue Reading
The Federal Government’s novel approach to tackling housing insurance affordability issues in North Queensland continued this week with the unveiling of ASIC’s home insurance comparison website. Replete with disclaimers and emphasising product features over policy price, the website is intended to aid consumer understanding and decrease underinsurance in a market struggling under flood and wind … Continue Reading
The Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) has continued its campaign for improved disclosure by insurers and their agents – this time in the motor vehicle insurance sphere. On 26 February 2015, ASIC published a report that examines the operation of no-claims discount (NCD) schemes for motor vehicle insurance and concluded that the schemes do not … Continue Reading
On 19 February 2015, we reported on ASIC enforcement actions in the second half of 2014. ASIC has since updated its regulatory guidance on enforceable undertakings (RG 100). The updated guidance will apply to enforceable undertakings accepted by ASIC from 9 March 2015. The changes made to the guidance centre primarily around the engagement of experts … Continue Reading
ASIC has recently released its quarterly enforcement report detailing enforcement outcomes between 1 July 2014 and 31 December 2014. The report addresses the range of criminal and civil action taken by the regulator, and highlights action taken against companies and directors resulting in criminal charges which were most significant during the period. In addition, significant … Continue Reading
A spate of natural disasters in recent years has revealed a concerning level of underinsurance in the home and contents insurance market, according to reports released by ASIC in late 2014. ASIC has called on insurance providers ‘to implement measures that will meaningfully improve consumers’ understanding of their policy, and help ensure consumers buy a … Continue Reading
The FSI referred to studies undertaken after natural disasters revealing inadvertent underinsurance due to consumers struggling to make an informed decision about the sum insured. Survey results highlight that even when consumers take the time to read insurance documentation, including the product disclosure statement, many misunderstand it, scan it briefly due to over-reliance on sales … Continue Reading
The FSI has recommended that the competency of financial advice providers be raised and an enhanced register of advisers introduced. The Government is currently considering mechanisms to raise minimum education requirements for financial advisers and the FSI recommends that this be prioritised. The FSI found that the minimum standards are currently too low which affects … Continue Reading
The FSI identified the need to better align the interests of financial services providers with those of consumers to ensure better consumer outcomes. The following strategies have been recommended to address some underlying issues: Raising standards of conduct and levels of professionalism: This aims to address concerns regarding organisational cultures that do not focus on … Continue Reading
The FSI has recommended that ASIC be granted a product intervention power to enable it to take a more proactive approach to reducing the risk of significant detriment to consumers. Specifically, this new power would allow the regulator to intervene to require or impose: amendments to marketing and disclosure material; warnings to consumers, and labelling … Continue Reading
The FSI shares concerns raised by ASIC that consumers are buying products that do not match their needs. The existing regulatory framework relies heavily on disclosure, financial advice and financial literacy. However, disclosure can be ineffective for a number of reasons, such as complexity of documents and misaligned interests. The FSI also considers that current … Continue Reading
The release of the final report of the Financial Systems Inquiry (FSI) brings us a step closer to a significant shift in conduct regulation in Australia. As we have previously reported, Australia seems set to join a UK and European trend away from regulation driven by disclosure towards an approach where product providers bear the responsibility … Continue Reading
ASIC has reminded AFS licensees of their obligation to report significant breaches to ASIC promptly and of the need to ensure that internal risk management systems are sufficiently robust to identify, assess and escalate breaches and report significant breaches to the regulator. In an open letter to the Institute of Internal Auditors Australia, and a … Continue Reading
