Community Resilience Week 2026
Financial Rights Legal Centre joined colleagues and politicians from across sectors and the political spectrum for Community Resilience Week at Parliament House in Canberra last week. Climate-related risks, housing instability and the infrastructure of insurance require urgent and united action. Over the week we: joined a Showcase organised by Insurance Council of Australia to bring […]
Big banks join scheme cutting home insurance costs
Joint media release with the Hon Daniel Mulino MP and the Hon Josh Wilson MP More Australians will receive lower insurance premiums with major banks NAB and CommBank joining the Albanese Government-backed Resilience Ratings Scheme. The Albanese Government has invested $3.2 million in the world-first scheme, helping people make their homes more bushfire resilient and […]
First-ever cross-sector coalition unites to tackle Australia’s home insurance crisis
For the first time, insurers, actuaries, banks, community legal centres, academics and consumer advocates have united behind a single blueprint to improve home insurance affordability The Housing Resilience Action Plan 2030 outlines more than 50 concrete actions, a clear timeline and a direct call on the Federal Government to act within six months Sydney, 30 […]
Financial Rights in the Media – More from the insurer’s response to 2022 flood inquiry
The worst practices of the insurance industry on show in government grilling By Adele Ferguson Monday 12 Feb 2024 at 6:33am, updated Mon 12 Feb 2024 at 10:33am Allan Bush lost his house in the 2022 floods.(Supplied) Allan Bush paid premiums for home and content insurance policy for more than 40 years without ever making a claim […]
Financial Rights in the Media – Insurer’s response to 2022 flood inquiry
Consumer advocates slam ‘appalling’ response from insurance companies in 2022 floods The insurance industry has been slammed by consumer groups over the ‘appalling’ treatment of Australians who suffered through devastating flooding. By Ellen Ransley – 31 January, 2024 Australians who suffered through devastating flooding events in 2022 were let down by the insurance industry, and […]
Media Release: Lenders must rise to the occasion and support Australians currently doing it tough due to the cost of living crisis
Financial Rights Legal Centre has welcomed ASIC’s open letter to 30 of Australia’s largest lenders calling on them to appropriately support customers experiencing financial hardship. Financial Rights – which helps run the National Debt Helpline in NSW – has seen an increase in callers to our service facing financial hardship. The National Debt Helpline experienced […]
Media Release: Insurers must learn from claims handling failures and lift their game
Financial Rights Legal Centre has called on the general insurance industry to commit to radically improving customer communications. Clear and consistent policies, particularly around ‘wear and tear’ exclusions, also need urgent industry-wide attention. Financial Rights’ call for change is in response to the release of Report 768 Navigating the storm: ASIC’s review of home insurance […]
Broken insurance market failing to protect people in climate crisis: New report
Urgent government action needed to make home and contents insurance accessible and affordable New research from a coalition of advocacy groups has found the home and contents insurance market is failing to protect people against extreme weather events, with customers struggling to access and afford the insurance they need. The report, commissioned by CHOICE, Climate […]
Confusing insurance definitions for extreme weather events must be standardised
Australians who face devastating property losses following natural disasters such as the recent floods confront further hardship when trying to claim on their insurance because of confusing terms and conditions and fine print limitations in their policies. A new report commissioned by Financial Rights Legal Centre has called upon the Australian Government to simplify and […]
Report shows insurance and the law are failing vulnerable Australians facing extreme weather events
Urgent reforms are needed to ensure the nation can adequately respond in the aftermath of future extreme weather events and urgent funding is needed to ensure Australians can get legal assistance when they need it most.
While insurers often provide vital services to consumers well, findings from a new report by Financial Rights Exposed: Insurance problems after extreme weather events reveals that good consumer experiences are far from universal.
The report findings are based on the experiences of more than 700 clients impacted by extreme weather events between November 2019 and April 2021 – from the “Black Summer bushfires” to Cyclone Seroja, and multiple extreme weather events in between.