Some of Australia’s leading general insurers have rejected allegations of misconduct following examination of their behaviour during the Hayne royal commission’s sixth round of hearings.
Suncorp-owned AAI, which offers insurance under several brands including AAMI, denied the suggestion it had sold misleading policies, while Allianz rejected the commission’s findings of poor culture affecting compliance.
Insurance Australia Group accepted it engaged in conduct that fell below community standards but rejected counsel assisting’s findings that its behaviour constituted misconduct.
Youi also rejected claims made against it, saying counsel assisting Rowena Orr QC failed to prove the case studies were attributable to its particular cultural and governance practices. The company said council assisting sought to portray Youi in the worst possible light and urged the commissioner to reject the findings.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission, under fire for failing to take appropriate action against insurers over issues raised during the hearings, said politicians are to blame.
“The insurance sector has been exempted from a range of laws which have seen ASIC’s ability to review the sector severely limited,” ASIC senior executive and former long-time head of the regulator’s insurance team, Greg Kirk, told the Australian Financial Review.”
Federal Treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, said he would look to introduce remediation power to help improve compensation outcomes for affected customers.