The Financial Rights Legal Centre (Financial Rights) supports the broad swathe of recommendations made by the Independent Reviewer of the Life Insurance Code of Practice, Peter Kell, in the final report delivered yesterday.
Quotes from Drew MacRae, Principal, Policy Development, Financial Rights Legal Centre
“The Independent Reviewer has brought his considerable experience and intelligence to the life insurance code review and has developed a sensible roadmap for the sector to improve their engagement with consumers.”
“The report has delivered a series of eminently reasonable recommendations to improve outcomes for consumers including to rein in endemic delays in claims handling, improve communications practices and lift the sector’s approach to people experiencing vulnerability. Including additional recommendations with respect to First Nations people, survivors of family and domestic violence, the LGBTQIA+ community and Australians impacted by blood-borne diseases are most welcome. Tackling issues of past and ongoing poor sales practices including in funeral insurance are also long overdue.
We look forward to working with the Council of Life Insurance Insurers (CALI) and the life insurance sector to ensure these recommendations are met, and implemented in an uplifted Life Insurance Code that is both contractually enforceable and approved by ASIC.”
“We particularly appreciate the unenviable role the reviewer has taken in tackling the complex legal challenges surrounding the application of blanket mental health exclusions in life insurance and agree with the reviewer that if life insurers were to ‘walk away’ from mental health cover altogether in disability products then it would undermine their industry’s social licence. It would also run the risk of further litigation.”
“We welcome the recommendation for further discussions on the issue take place. The Life Insurance sector needs to tread very carefully here to ensure that any steps they take in the name of ‘sustainability’, do not unfairly discriminate Australians in breach of the Disability Discrimination Act.”
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