The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) has welcomed the passage of the Financial Sector Reform (Hayne Royal Commission Response) Bill 2020 through the Federal Parliament.
The Financial Sector Reform Bill 2020 aims to provide greater protection for superannuation members against paying fees for no service. It addresses the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation, and Financial Services Industry for add-on sales, hawking, and claims handling and settlement.
ICA chief executive officer Andrew Hall said insurers welcome the passage of the bill as it provides them with the certainty needed to establish new processes and systems to bring the benefits of the reform to their clients.
“The Insurance Council and its members now look forward to working with Commonwealth Treasury, ASIC, and other groups such as consumer advocates to bring these reforms to life,” said Hall. “There are practical implementation issues that we are keen to see resolved so the legislation can maximise consumer outcomes as effectively and quickly as possible,”
The ICA expects the restrictions on unsolicited sales of general insurance and stronger disciplines on compliance with the General Insurance Code of Practice to improve consumer confidence in the value and utility of insurance as an important tool to protect family and business assets.
