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 […]
Media Release: New Liquidator Data Reveals ‘Targeted Exploitation’ Of First Nations Communities Through Centrepay System
Youpla’s liquidators also revealed the company has had over 150,000 policies active at different times between 1992 and 2019, with around 20,000 still active in 2019. This reveals the scale of the harm caused to First Nations communities and provides insight into how their exploitative model relied on ‘churning’ sign-ups and cancellations to maximise profits […]
Insurers are failing consumers with shoddy data practices
The insurance industry could be relying on erroneous or misleading information concerning consumers and their claims history when quoting, assessing new claims or setting premiums, a damning report commissioned by Financial Rights has found. The report Privacy Practices in General Insurance by Roger Clarke and Nigel Waters examined the data access and handling practices of […]
Financial Rights welcomes Australian Government’s funding commitment for the Insurance Law Service
The Financial Rights Legal Centre welcomes the Australian Government’s 2022-2023 Budget commitment of $2.5 million over two years for the centre’s Insurance Law Service. Financial Rights Legal Centre Chief Executive Officer Karen Cox said the funding came at a critical time as without it the Insurance Law Service would struggle to remain viable. “This funding […]
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 […]
Governments and insurers should enable the pre-filling of Australians’ driving records and insurance claims histories
Governments should work with the general insurance sector to enable the pre-filling of Australians’ driving records and insurance claims history information required for disclosure purposes at the time of purchase of motor vehicle insurance. This was the key recommendation of the Financial Rights Legal Centre report Automating General Insurance Disclosure which examined close to 400 […]
AssetInsure has strongest family violence policy – desktop audit finds
AssetInsure has the strongest family violence policy in the general insurance industry. This was the finding of a desktop audit undertaken to evaluate the family violence policies of the 47 subscribers to the General Insurance Code of Practice. The 2020 General Insurance Code of Practice introduced new provisions requiring subscribers to have family violence policies […]
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.