Wednesday, 10 May 2023

The Motor Vehicle Insurance and Repair Industry (MVIRI) Code of Conduct Committee (CAC) has received Dr Michael Schaper’s final report on the independent review of the Motor Vehicle Insurance and Repair Industry Code of Conduct (the Code).

The report provides 15 recommendations in response to the review’s terms of reference which focused on:

1. The effectiveness of dispute resolution processes under the MVIRI Code
2. Awareness and accessibility of the Code
3. Compliance with the Code
4. Governance of the Code and the CAC
5. Other issues pertinent to the effective governance and operation of the Code

Dr Schaper said the review has also highlighted the importance of the motor vehicle insurance and repair industry to the broader community.

“A thorough review of the code is important because we are in a time of significant change. The Code is mandatory in New South Wales and South Australia, and a review of the Code by the Tasmanian Government is underway”

A range of stakeholders were consulted in the review process, including government bodies, regulators such as Small Business Commissioners, members of the Code Administration Committee, as well as the insurance and repair industry.

The CAC will now work with its membership bodies to review Dr Schaper’s recommendations.

Since its inception in 2006, the MVIRI Code of Conduct has undergone multiple reviews to ensure it remains fit-for-purpose, with the last review undertaken in 2017.

Motor vehicle repairs are the largest single insurance claim for Australian consumers, with 1.76 million smash claims in the 2020-21 financial year alone.

In December 2022, the CAC announced Dr Schaper was appointed to conduct an independent review of the Code.

The MVIRI Code Administration Committee acknowledges and thanks Dr Schaper for his work in delivering the review.

A copy of Dr Schaper’s report can be found on the Motor Vehicle Insurance and Repair Industry Code of Conduct website at www.abrcode.com.au/resource-centre as well as the MTAA website www.mtaa.com.au and the ICA website at www.insurancecouncil.com.au.

Contact:
MVIRI Chair Stephen Jenkins
Phone: 0447 094 126
Email: www.abrcode.com.au/contact-us

Monday, 1 May 2023

The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) and insurers will be in Adelaide for a community information session and in-person consultations for customers affected by the recent flood impacting River Murray communities.

The community session will provide insurance policyholders with general information including how the insurance claim management process works, understanding a scope of works, claim timeframes, complaint avenues, support available and useful tips to assist with the navigation of the claims and recovery process.

The community session includes a presentation by the ICA and Q&A session for customers to ask general questions in a public forum, followed by in-person meetings.

These meetings give customers the opportunity to speak with their insurer directly about their individual claim.

The Adelaide location was chosen for several reasons:
• The majority of claims (80 per cent) lodged to date are for holiday homes
• There are a reduced number of people currently living in flood-impacted areas
• Property damage along the River Murray covers a very wide area with no obvious epicentre in which to base a local consultation
• There are few venues available to host a large function in impacted locations.

Customers located in regional areas unable to attend the event in Adelaide can register for a call back from their insurer using www.insurancecouncil.com.au/AdelaideBookings.

Where: U City, 43 Franklin Street, Adelaide

When: Monday 8 May - community information session runs 5.15pm to 6.30pm, insurer customer meetings will follow the information session until 8.00pm.

Registration via www.insurancecouncil.com.au/AdelaideBookings link is essential as seating is limited.

Quote attributable to Andrew Hall, CEO, Insurance Council of Australia:

The Insurance Council and insurers look forward to assisting policyholders impacted by the recent River Murray flooding.

We are hoping that holding the community event at a central location in Adelaide’s CBD means we can assist as many people as possible impacted by this protracted flood.

Based on our experiences and practice following other recent flooding events in the eastern states, we know that these events can provide a lot of valuable information and help customers move their claim process along faster.

Wednesday, 19 April 2023

The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) today announced the appointment of leading consultancy and accounting firm Deloitte to undertake an external review into the insurance industry’s response to the 2022 South-East Queensland and Northern New South Wales floods.

The review will look to identify lessons learned from insurers’ response to the floods – both from good practice and practices requiring improvement – to better prepare and inform the industry’s response to future extreme weather events in a changing climate.

Insurers’ response timeframes, resources deployed, claims handling, complaints handling, communication with policyholders, and engagement with stakeholders will all be examined as part of the review.

The review will also examine the impact of regulatory requirements, insurers’ interactions with government agencies and their programs and policies, and broader external pressures including supply chain and labour constraints.

The review will involve analysis of insurers’ claims and complaints data and include a consultation process with relevant stakeholders, including affected local governments, elected representatives, the Australian Financial Complaints Authority and other regulators, and consumer representatives, to obtain a broad range of views.

As part of the review process, Deloitte will seek feedback with representative groups of affected policy holders in significantly impacted areas and will establish a web portal for individual policyholders to provide their own important perspectives.

The Insurance Council selected Deloitte for the review because of their significant experience across insurance and financial services, including claims and complaints management and responding to crises. The final report including recommendations for insurers and the Insurance Council is expected to be completed by the third quarter of 2023.

Insurance customers have lodged more than 240,000 claims totalling $5.81 billion as a result of the floods, making it the costliest extreme weather event in Australian history and, according to a report by global reinsurer MunichRe, the second costliest insured event in the world in 2022.

Comment attributable to Andrew Hall, CEO Insurance Council of Australia:

As the costliest extreme weather event in Australian history, last year's floods created significant challenges for the insurance industry in addressing the extraordinary volume of claims across a very wide geographic area.

Following three years of La Niña conditions and the COVID-19 pandemic, these floods tested the systems insurers use to respond to customers and raised issues such as a shortage of expert assessors, building labour and materials constraints, and the complexity of recovery and resilience programs delivered by state governments. 

With more than 83 per cent of claims now closed, insurers have agreed it is timely to review the industry’s response to identify best practice and what could be improved when responding to future extreme weather events.