The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) and the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) conducted a roundtable centred on risk governance.
APRA chair John Lonsdale – alongside APRA member Suzanne Smith, executive director Sean Carmody, and general manager John Huijsen – engaged with executives from the general insurance sector.
This event allowed APRA to emphasise the critical nature of robust risk governance within its supervisory framework.
Lonsdale, who recently unveiled this year’s key risks in a speech addressed to the Senate Economics Legislation Committee, called on industry leaders to urgently enhance their risk governance practices and to critically assess and address underlying issues when failures occur.
APRA, which recently stressed the importance of data backups to improve cyber resilience, underscored the insurance industry’s systemic importance and its vital role in supporting both households and businesses, contributing significantly to the broader economy.
During the event, industry representatives discussed their experiences and challenges.
“APRA appreciated hearing the industry’s experiences, challenges, and priorities, including the cumulative effect of regulatory change across a wide range of areas, perspectives on the importance of proportionality in regulation, and the impact of responding to data requests from numerous sources,” APRA said.
The dialogue also highlighted the need for increased transparency and the benefits of sustained collaboration among government agencies for more effective outcomes.
“The roundtable allowed for valuable and constructive dialogue and both APRA and the ICA see value in convening additional roundtables in the future,” APRA said.
Focusing on risks, the ICA recently created a new taskforce to combat insurance fraud and scams, with Andrew Gill appointed as the executive officer of the new unit.
Gill is experienced in investigating insurance fraud, having spent 24 years as a detective in the New South Wales Police fraud and cybercrime squad, followed by a tenure as forensic director at McGrathNicol.
The new unit aims to enhance the Australian insurance industry’s capabilities in identifying organised fraud networks and emerging fraud trends. It will help ICA members gather intelligence on organised fraud and enhance their efforts to detect and prevent fraudulent activities. It will also work with government entities to address fraud and scams more effectively.
