(Re)Insurance and Regulation Focus - fortnight commencing 14 April

Key developments in the last fortnight

ASIC proposes to publish data on reportable situations

ASIC is currently consulting on plans to publish firm level data on two dashboards – reportable situation reports and internal dispute resolution data. The proposal will see data published annually on reportable situations and biannually on internal dispute resolution data. The data would be published at a firm level and will include identifying information about licensees, the number of breaches reported and information about those breaches, demographics of complainants and information about complaints. Data will not be published about individual licensees. ASIC believes that this information will encourage transparency and accountability within the financial services industry and encourage behavioural improvements. The consultation is open until 14 May 2025.

ASIC consults on plan to increase visibility of firms’ breach and complaints data

ASIC provides guidance on sustainability reporting

Following the commencement of new mandatory sustainability reporting requirements on 1 January 2025, ASIC has released its final Regulatory Guide RG 280: Sustainability Reporting (March 2025). RG 280 covers the preparation and content requirements for the new Sustainability Report, sustainability-related financial disclosures outside the Sustainability Report and how ASIC will administer the sustainability reporting requirements. The guidance provided by RG 280 is largely general in nature as ASIC expects “reporting practices will evolve over time”. ASIC has resisted calls for more specific guidance on the basis that such guidance may cause misalignment with global standards.

RG 280 Sustainability reporting | ASIC

ASIC takes action for serious claims handling failures

ASIC has instituted proceedings against Hollard over significant failings in the handling of a building and contents claim. Relevant failings include taking 18 months to reject the claim after initially accepting, repeatedly delaying decisions about repairs, taking over nine months to initiate an inspection, delaying providing temporary accommodation to the claimants, and relying on non-expert opinions over expert reports on the cause of the damage. ASIC has alleged that the actions breached the insurer’s duty of utmost good faith. This action comes after repeated calls from ASIC for general insurers to review and improve their claims handling practices, particularly in relation to home insurance claims.

ASIC sues Hollard Insurance alleging serious claim handling failures | ASIC

CGC publishes 2023/24 Annual Data Report

The CGC Annual Data Report reveals that the total number of breaches of the General Insurance Code of Practice for the 2023/24 year are down, and self reported breaches are increasing in categories that have historically been underreported. The CGC puts this down to proactivity on the part of insurers in “identifying and addressing certain compliance gaps” along with “better oversight and more rigorous reporting”. However the Annual Data Report also notes a rise in customer complaints and a large number of breaches being attributed to failure to follow procedures. The CGC calls on insurers to ensure that their systems and processes are up to the standard that the regulators expect of them.

Industry Data and Compliance Report FY24 - CGC

Key dates on the horizon

• 20 May 2025 – the Sparkes team are presenting at AILA on CPS 230 and its impact on Delegated Authorities
• 6 June 2025 – submissions on APRA's enhanced governance proposals due.
• *1 July 2025 – APRA Prudential Standard CPS 230 commences.*

In case you missed it

The Sparkes team are presenting an AILA webinar on CPS 230 and its impact on delegated authorities on 20 May 2025 – don’t miss it!