The sixth round of hearings in Australia’s Royal Commission into banking, superannuation and insurance will kick off on 10 September and focus on life and general insurance.
The commission will consider issues associated with the sale and design of life and general insurance products and the handling of claims, the administration of life insurance by superannuation trustees.
It will also consider the appropriateness of the current regulatory regime for the insurance industry.
AMP under the cosh, again
The commission will look at case studies from six life insurers as part of its review.
They are AMP, Clearview, CommInsure, Freedom Insurance, Rest and Tal.
Those following the Royal Commission will be familiar with the ongoing fallout for AMP following earlier hearings.
Long-standing chief executive Craig Mellor stepped down immediately in April following revelations of misconduct. His replacement was named this month as Francesco De Ferrari and he could earn up to A$8.3m in his first year on the job to clean up the reputation of the company.
The firm is facing five lawsuits on behalf of shareholders, with AMP Financial Planning also facing federal court proceedings after the regulator said it failed to protect clients from advisers improperly rewriting client policies.
Regulatory regime scrutiny
Four general insurers will also face being grilled by the commission; AAI (Suncorp), Allianz, IAG and Youi, before Australia’s regulatory regime is put under the microscope.
The commission will review the existing code governance committee, financial services council and insurance council of Australia.
A substantial industry
The Australian life industry generated A$18.1bn (£10.3bn, $13.3bn, €11.4bn) in premiums from policyholders in the year to 31 March 2018.
At that point, the value of total assets held by life insurers in Australia was A$230.1bn.
