Andrew Hall began his opening statement this morning to the 2022 floods inquiry with an apology.
“I would like to start by apologising on behalf of the insurance industry to those customers whose claims were not handled to the standard our industry strives to achieve,” said the CEO of the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA).
The hearings, over the next four weeks, are part of a federal inquiry by the House Standing Committee on Economics into insurers’ responses to claims from the floods.
Hall is the first insurance industry representative to appear in person. Last week, politicians heard from consumer groups and regulators. The appearances are publicly live streamed.
“There’s no doubt the floods of 2022 were very challenging, and they tested insurers’ systems, processes and people like never before,” said Hall. “Insurers and their staff worked day and night to meet the needs of their customers, the majority of whom had their claim resolved in a satisfactory way.”
However, he said “not all systems or processes of insurers passed the test.”
Many thousands of people were affected by these inundations across the east coast, from south-east Queensland to Tasmania.
According to the inquiry’s website, “The trauma is continuing for many people – with delays in being rehoused just one issue.”
The committee is due to report its findings by 30 September 2024.
