(Re)Insurance and Regulation Focus - week commencing 6 July
13 July 2026
Key developments in the last fortnight
2026 Submissions to the redrafted GICOP
On 24 June 2026, the ICA announced consultation on a full re-draft of the General Insurance Code of Practice (GICOP). This represents a significant uplift in protections for insureds, as the new GICOP will be legally enforceable. Under the proposed re-draft, home and motor claims left undecided after 12 months will be automatically accepted (subject to certain exceptions), there are new family violence protections, including in respect of financial abuse and coercion, and a new circumstances-based vulnerability definition has been added. The GICOP in its current state remains in force during the consultation. The ICA invites submissions from all interested stakeholders until 21 July 2026.
Code submissions - Insurance Council of Australia
Life Code independent review: final report published
Peter Kell’s independent review of the Life Insurance Code of Practice (Life Code) concluded with a report dated 30 June 2026 that contains 85 recommendations, most requiring changes to the Life Code. These recommendations spanned claims handling, vulnerability, genetic testing, First Nations and LGBTIQA+ customers, and importantly, mental health cover. On mental health, the report recommends that the Life Code prohibit blanket mental health exclusions in standard form retail products, even where the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth) would otherwise permit them, but allow narrower 'sustainable design features' that limit cover, provided that they are backed by actuarial or statistical data and reviewed every three years. This reflects the Council of Australia Life Insurers’ sustainability argument about rising claims, but stops short of letting life insurers negate cover for mental health conditions entirely. It also defers the hard detail to an industry-led stakeholder consultation process to develop principles and guidance. The report also recommends that the Life Code commitments be contractually enforceable, aligning life insurance with the direction of GICOP.
Life Code review – Latest updates
ASIC updates RG 234 Advertising financial products and services
On 9 June 2026, ASIC issued an updated Regulatory Guide 234. In the first substantive overhaul since 2012, ASIC has incorporated its expectations previously set out in RG 53 (past performance, now withdrawn) and provided various uplifts to account for 14 years of regulatory developments. With regard to previous enforcement actions against insurers, the RG critiques language such as ‘guaranteed acceptance’ or ‘no exceptions’ which may be misleading or deceptive (see Example 14); and the use of online advertisements which are subject to hidden conditions outlined elsewhere (see Example 25). With regard to insurance premiums specifically, ASIC expresses concerns about situations where customers were given the option to divide the total premium payable on a policy into 12 monthly payments over 1 annual payment, but without adequate disclosure that such payment arrangements would increase the total premium payable (see Example 27). The updates to RG 234 confirm that ASIC expects insurers (and other financial service providers) to be assured that customers reasonably understand and are not likely to be misled or deceived by their advertising materials.
RG 234 Advertising financial products and services (including credit) | ASIC
GICGC review on premium transparency
In a report published 1 July 2025, the General Insurance Code Governance Committee found 12 of 20 insurers surveyed charged for more instalment payments by approximately 7-11%, and of those 12, half failed to adequately disclose this discrepancy at policy renewal. Common failures included relying on vague language such as ‘may apply’, cross-referencing the PDS and/or discount guide(s), or focussing only on the customer’s existing payment type rather than clear comparisons. Two insurers reported that they don’t intend to rectify these issues and will face formal follow-up. The report outlines best practices, including stating the monthly cost, annual cost, and the exact dollar saving amount in the renewal notice itself and not a click-through link. Given the overlap with the updated ASIC RG 234 outlined above, the message to Insurers is clear – align with these clear expectations as soon as practicable or face both code breaches and regulatory enforcement action.
Clear costs at renewal: payment options and pricing transparency – CGC
APRA finalising NCPD publication overhaul
APRA’s 1 July 2026 response to its National Claims and Policies Database (NCPD) consultation confirms it will proceed with a refreshed non-confidentiality determination format. Submissions to this consultation by the Actuaries Institute and ICA were broadly supportive, with some pushback on product definitions and confidentiality issues noted from both. Notably, cyber insurance and management liability will now be reported as separate product classes going forward.
APRA releases response to consultation on the National Claims and Policies Database | APRA
APRA finalises GI & LI statistical publication changes
APRA’s 23 June 2026 letter responded to its consultation on non-confidentiality determinations and updated quarterly General Insurance and Life Insurance statistical publications. Six submissions received to this consultation were broadly supportive, although some general insurers raised commercial sensitivity concerns that quarterly reported figures may be perceived as volatile when read out of context. In response, APRA has excluded some forms of non-confidentiality determinations, while proceeding on others. This consultation is distinct from the NCPD outlined above, as this publication concerns quarterly statistics in contrast to claims and policy-level NCPD data.
Consultation on GI & LI non-confidentiality determination and statistical publications | APRA
OAIC closes consultation on automated decision-making transparency
The OAIC’s consultation on guidance for the new Automated Decision Making (ADM) transparency obligation closed on 15 June 2026. From 10 December 2026, APP entities using personal information in ADM that could affect people’s rights or interests must disclose, in their privacy policy, the kinds of information used, and the kinds of decisions made. Insurers using ADM in algorithmic underwriting, premium pricing, claims services, or any other business operations must map which decisions are within scope, and prepare accordingly. Official guidance from the OAIC is still pending and is expected around September 2026, however, insurers and all APP entities should remain aware and take steps towards compliance.
Consultation on Guidance for Transparency in Automated Decision Making | OAIC
Privacy Commissioner orders AMEX Australia to compensate complainant following privacy interference
The Australian Privacy Commissioner, Ms Carly Kind, has recently found that American Express Australia Ltd (AMEX) interfered with a complainant’s privacy under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). These findings are outlined in a summary report published 15 June 2026, in which AMEX failed to take reasonable steps to protect the complainant’s personal information from unauthorised access in breach of APP 11.1. This breach occurred when a former AMEX employee accessed the Complainant’s records following the breakdown of their personal relationship and utilised that information for illegitimate, non-business-related purposes. Accordingly, the Commissioner found that AMEX must pay the Complainant compensation for economic and non-economic loss, and legal costs, together with a written apology. AMEX must further implement more suitable technical controls across the relevant systems to restrict employee access to specific customer information including the personal information of vulnerable or high-profile customers. These include implementing account-level access and action logging, and creating time-stamped logged entries when an employee accesses or actions a customer’s records.
Key dates
- 21 July 2026 – consultation closes on ICA’s GICOP re-draft.
- 29 July 2026 – consultation closes on Treasury’s statutory review of tax and corporate whistleblowing regimes.
- 7 August 2026 – consultation closes on NIBA’s Insurance Brokers Code of Practice review.
- 10 December 2026 – ADM transparency obligations commence for all APP entities.
- 1 January 2027– proposed commencement of APRA’s targeted adjustments to the general insurance reinsurance framework.
In case you missed it
The Financial Accountability Regime commenced for insurers on 15 March 2025 and has been in-force for over a year. The Sparke Helmore team has been advising on the application of FAR and compliance measures, including conducting FAR simulation exercises for Accountable Persons, embedding and testing the effectiveness of entities’ FAR implementations. If this is of interest to you, please reach out and let us know.
