86 recommendations: Insurers hit by 2022 flood inquiry report
86 recommendations: Insurers hit by 2022 flood inquiry report | Insurance Business Australia
Insurance News
86 recommendations: Insurers hit by 2022 flood inquiry report
Standardised terms and an enforceable Code are proposed
Insurance News
By
Daniel Wood
The government’s inquiry into insurers’ response to Australia’s most costly flood has released its report.
The inquiry’s chair, Daniel Mulino MP, said the title: Flood failure to future fairness, reflected “the collective failure by insurers to meet their obligations to policyholders after the 2022 floods.”
The report contains 86 recommendations. If adopted, they will significantly change the way insurers deal with floods, claims and impacted customers.
registration of the General Insurance Code of Practice with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and that the Code be made enforceable through insurance contracts
standardising key terms across all insurance contracts through legislated definitions, including rainfall runoff, storm surge, wear and tear and lack of maintenance
new regulatory guidance by ASIC to clarify that insurers cannot deny claims based solely on expert reports that do not link the damage observed with the reported cause
More temporary accommodation
There are also recommendations, said the media release, to address inadequate temporary accommodation arrangements.
“We believe insurers should, by default, assume the risk of how long it takes to complete works, and to bear the cost of temporary accommodation,” said Mulino.
Disclosure of flood risk levels
The report also responds to the growing number of uninsurable properties at very high risk by recommending disclosure of flood risk levels through property conveyancing and rental agreements.
The government’s inquiry involved more than 20 days of hearings and received 81 submissions. The leaders of major insurance firms, consumer advocates and regulators all gave testimony.
What do you think of the report’s recommendations? Please tell us below
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