Mr Locke: I would say that no matters have yet gone through to an ombudsman or an adjudicator for a determination. There are matters that will have resolved between the parties. In many cases with travel insurance, pandemic is excluded. For most travel insurance policies, people are not covered. Where they are coming to us, we're able to quickly have a look at the policy and explain the exclusions in respect of that. In most policies that is actually pretty clear. But it hasn't stopped people coming to us in the first instance. I'm happy to take on notice a more detailed response to the question that you raised, Chair, but I know that we have not had any matters that have yet worked through to an ombudsman or an adjudicator for a determination.

CHAIR: What I might put on effective notice is that if you could, perhaps by the end of next month and then for every month for the following six months, just give us an update on basic data around that, that would be very useful. We have asked similar things of APRA related to banking—the banks have done it for APRA, but we will get that data, as well as for other financial institutions like the banks, for regular updates. That would be helpful, in terms of matters resolved and also the method of resolution over the next little while.

Mr Locke: I'd be very happy to do that.

Hansard p. 19

28 April 2020

(3 June 2020)
(PDF253KB)

Attachment 1
(12 June 2020)
(PDF433KB)

Attachment 2
(30 July 2020)
(PDF433KB)

Attachment 3
(14 August 2020)
(PDF257KB)

Attachment 4
(25 September 2020)
(PDF183KB)

Attachment 5
(13 October 2020)
(PDF432KB)

Attachment 6
(21 December 2020)
(PDF258KB)

AFC02QON

Wilson

CHAIR: I'm just going to check if there are any other members who want to ask any further questions. I have a couple more. No? Everyone's happy. I just want to go back right to the start. You made some comments about the number of complaints in the context of COVID-19 relating to superannuation. There were 24, if I'm not mistaken. I want to get clarity on what those 24 complaints were. Were they related to insurance policies associated in people's superannuation accounts or purchased out of their superannuation accounts?

Mr Locke: I believe that that's the case, but I can provide a breakdown on notice, Chair. I don't want to mislead on that and I don't have material directly on that. I believe it is related to insurance. There may be a few complaints or disputes regarding the handling of, or perceived issues with, draw-down of superannuation. But I'll have to take that on notice I think.
CHAIR: I accept the point on notice for clarity. Do we know if it relates to income protection insurance? Is that the issue that has been raised?

Mr Locke: I think that's the most likely, but I don't have the information to hand. John, I don't know if you know?

Mr Price: No, I'm not aware of that. I don't have that information.

Mr Locke: I can quickly provide that through to the secretary, but I don't have it to hand. I would expect that that's what the nature of those are. I think that's what I would assume.

CHAIR: Could we get some disaggregation on what types of insurance issues you are receiving? I assume most of it would be for income protection insurance. If it isn't, what are the details of those? Could we get de-identified information, if that's acceptable, about, for instance, basic stuff like whether people are making claims and they're not being paid out or they're ineligible.

Mr Locke: Yes, we'll do that.

Hansard p. 24

28 April 2020

(3 June 2020)
(PDF253KB)

AIA Australia

No.	Member	Question	Hansard page and Hearing date or Written Questions	Response (Publication date)
AIA01QW	Wilson	To what extent do your insurance policies for small business cover notifiable diseases under: (a) The Biosecurity Act 2015 (Cth)? And if not, why not? (b) The Quarantine Act 1908 (Cth)? And if not, why not? (c) What differences are there between what is covered under the Biosecurity Act 2015 (Cth) and the Quarantine Act 1908 (Cth)? (d) Are there any differences that apply based on the policies related to diseases covered under either?	Written	(9 April 2020)(PDF126KB)
AIA02QW	Wilson	To what extent do your insurance policies for small business not cover notifiable diseases under: (a) The Biosecurity Act 2015 (Cth)? And if not, why not? (b) The Quarantine Act 1908 (Cth)? And if not, why not? (c) What differences are there between what is covered under the Biosecurity Act 2015 (Cth) and the Quarantine Act 1908 (Cth)? (d) Are there any differences that apply based on the policies related to diseases covered under either?	Written	(9 April 2020)(PDF149KB)
AIA03QON	Wilson	CHAIR: But it's not just elective surgery. There are a lot of other additional options that people select, which often involve physical, person-to-person contact, which would therefore be ineligible to proceed in a lot of cases, because of the personalised health services and that physical contact. It's covered under optional packages. Presumably, you've seen reductions, obviously, in demand, in the number of elective hospital admissions, but you've also seen a reduction in the use of optional extras—is that correct? Mr Mu: There has been an initial reduction, and therefore we'll again be able to look at ways, both individually and across the industry, we can provide value and benefits back to members, if that sustains. CHAIR: So what percentage of annual use has declined on either a month-by-month or quarterly basis? Has there been a decline in the exercise of options under health insurance premiums and a decline in terms of elective surgery? Mr Mu: At this stage, it is probably too early to say; we haven't had a quarter as yet. We have really looked at this from the start of April—or beginning in March-April. So I can definitely provide some stats to you on that, but at this stage we— CHAIR: What would be good is if, on notice, once we're at the end of the quarter, we got the data for last year's comparable quarter and this comparable quarter. We will send this to you in writing so that there'll be no ambiguity. So this quarter this time last year and this quarter this time this year, as to claiming by policyholders on elective surgery and the various optional extras that you provide, so that we can compare—not just in terms of volume but in terms of the cost, the dollar figure—across the profile, because, obviously, when people are paying for things and they're not getting any services, they become increasingly frustrated. I'm not suggesting it's necessarily the case, and I know there has been some adjustment. But having that data in the public square would be very useful in helping to look at the sector	Hansard p. 45 28 April 2020	(9 June 2020)(PDF100KB)
AIA04QON	Leigh	Dr LEIGH: Thank you, Mr Mu. I want to pick up the line of the questioning that the chair was focusing on around the savings to AIA from the coronavirus essentially shutting down your need to pay private health insurance claims. You said that you were reluctant to provide figures until the end of the quarter, but I'm sure that, as a highly competent CEO, you'd be monitoring this stuff on a daily basis or, if not, weekly. It must be right, mustn't it, that your claims are down by far more than half from the similar period last year? Mr Mu: For clarity: as a life insurer, we insure 3.8 million lives; as a health insurer, we have far more—we've been a health insurer for the last two years now, and we have around 30,000 to 40,000 policyholders. So, for us, the impact is significant on the life insurance side. On the health insurance side, absolutely we are tracking those stats, and, as I said, we've seen a reduction in the claimable claims that we've received, but we've also seen an increase in activity, with calls and others, around their health insurance. So, at this stage, as I mentioned, we've probably seen an early reduction of around 10 per cent of some of those claims, but it is very early, and that's why I would like to give you the proper stats when we have some— Dr LEIGH: I'd struggle to reconcile a mere 10 per cent drop, which is what we know has happened across the economy, Mr Mu. In terms of the dollar value of claims paid out this month, compared to the same month last year, have you dropped 10 per cent not 50 per cent? The hospitals aren't doing elective surgeries. Most people aren't able to get in to see optometrists or physiotherapists. I struggle to think where your claims would be coming from, to be honest, right now. Surely the drop is in the order of half? Mr Mu: The drop is significant. As I said, if I can take it on notice, I'll provide that to you, across the board, for all claims. I was talking about, initially, elective surgery, but I would like to give you the proper stats. So I definitely will get those for you.	Hansard p. 46 28 April 2020	(9 June 2020)(PDF98KB)
AIA05QON	Leigh	Dr LEIGH: Right. But that's the issue I'm going to. If people are more likely to claim when the economy's suffering a downturn and that's just at the moment when you press pause on a bunch of your policies, it seems like you could be avoiding a whole lot of potential payouts. Have you looked at whether it is helpful or harmful to your bottom line to allow people to pause their policies at this time? Mr Mu: What we've been doing is focusing on two things: one is making sure we have essential services in place for our existing customers and for any claimants, because anyone who's got insurance cover with us can still put a claim in at this current time. The second thing is, absolutely, we have come up with a range of measures to support people if they can't afford their premiums. But, as I said, if anyone cancels, we proactively contact them to see if there is something we can do to help them retain that cover. Dr LEIGH: I take it from that answer that the answer is, no, you haven't done that analysis? Mr Mu: We haven't done that analysis. What we've been looking at is how to ensure we can support the claims that are expected to come through. We have looked at the affordability issue, and as an industry we are working to see if there are things that we can do. We've come up with an initial range of financial hardship measures to support people to keep their cover in some form, or to be able to pause that cover or reduce that cover, based on their circumstances. But, at this stage, we haven't seen a large number of those. But you'd expect, over a period of time, that that may be the case, so it is something we need to continue to watch closely. Dr LEIGH: Would you undertake to come back to the committee on that? I think it's a fairly important issue. If it is indeed the case that, by allowing people to pause their policies, you're helping your bottom line and hurting theirs then that would seem to be something that's important for policymakers like us to understand, as well as being relevant for the industry more broadly. Mr Mu: Understood. Yes, we will definitely be tracking all of those key measures, and we'd be happy to come back.	Hansard p. 47 28 April 2020	(9 June 2020)(PDF122KB)
AIA06QON	Leigh	Dr LEIGH: Are you reviewing those policies? It does place you out of step with other firms in the industry who have the 12-month exclusion but not an ongoing exclusion. Mr Mu: As I said, generally it's a 12-month exclusion. There are some policies, and we are reviewing them, along with other definitions. We review definitions annually, where we may partner with a fund when we look at those. But, generally speaking, the exclusion is for 12 months. Dr LEIGH: Could you undertake to come back to the committee with some information on the number of policies that are affected by an ongoing suicide claim exclusion? It seems to be a somewhat, should I say, outdated approach to mental illness—one which sees suicide as a choice rather than a manifestation of mental illness. I would have thought in the 21st century it might be more appropriate for AIA to move to just a 12-month exclusion. Mr Mu: As I said, the majority of our plans are that way inclined. We'll come back to you.	Hansard p. 48 28 April 2020	(9 June 2020)(PDF78KB)
AIA07QON	Mulino	Dr MULINO: Thanks, Mr Mu, for giving evidence today. I just want to follow on from a few of the earlier questions from the deputy chair around some of the data relating to people who aren't renewing. Do you yet have a sense of the demographic breakdown of people that aren't renewing? Mr Mu: Again, I'm happy to take that on notice. We have a number of people calling in and asking, but at this stage we've had a very low level of people cancelling or looking to pause their cover. I would definitely be happy to provide those, but at this stage we haven't seen a large number at all. Dr MULINO: Okay, thanks. In following up on that, could you also provide that information in, say, a month and two months as well? Obviously this is a highly fluid situation, and I expect in two months things may look very different to what they've been in the last two weeks.	Hansard p. 48 28 April 2020	(9 June 2020) (PDF88KB)
AIA08QON	Aly	Dr ALY: I just want to ask one more question if I may. It's with regard to the royal commission and the Rest case. I know that you are not a life insurance provider for Rest anymore, but one of the parts of that case was in relation to the prescribed minimum balance clause whereby you have to maintain a specified balance in your superannuation account to obtain and maintain life insurance coverage. Do you still have that clause? Mr Mu: We're not on Rest anymore, as of 1 December, so I'm not across their new policy. But the changes to the policy have been made. I would need to refer back to see what the last policy was when we were on Rest. I can take that on notice and come back to you with the correct information.	Hansard p. 49 28 April 2020	(9 June 2020) (PDF87KB)
AIA09QW	Leigh	a) Do you have any life insurance coverage exclusions or increased premiums in relation to mental health conditions? (i) If so, what data have you used to determine the linkages between specific mental health conditions and related insurance claims? (b) Do your life insurance policies have exemptions relating to suicide? (i) Are there any special considerations with regard to how these exemptions are applied (e.g. the length of time a person has been insured)? (ii) How did you determine these considerations? (c) Do you have any special claims handling processes in place in relation to suicide? (i) In the event that a claim is denied, do you offer any support to the listed beneficiary? (d) There have been some suggestions, including recently by the Productivity Commission’s draft report into mental health, that the insurance industry’s voluntary code of conduct may not be sufficient and that insurance practices in relation to mental health and suicide continue to vary widely. Can you illustrate how practices are continuing to improve in light of the current code?	Written	(9 June 2020)(PDF173KB)

AIG

No.	Member	Question	Hansard page and Hearing date or Written Questions	Response (Publication date)
AIG01QW	Wilson	Can you please provide information about inclusion in insurance products in the following circumstances prior to a policy holder’s departure: (a) The impact on accessing health insurance (i.e. costs for testing and hospital stays) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that already has a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19. (b) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs incurred for self-quarantine) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that already has a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19. (c) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs for rescheduling flights) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that already has a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19. (d) The impact on accessing health insurance (i.e. costs for testing and hospital stays) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, but has subsequently done so. (e) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs incurred for self-quarantine) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, but has subsequently done so. (f) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs for rescheduling flights) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, but has subsequently done so. (g) The impact on accessing health insurance (i.e. costs for testing and hospital stays) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, and may do so in the future. (h) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs incurred for self-quarantine) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, and may do so in the future. (i) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs for rescheduling flights) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, and may do so in the future.	Written	(26 May 2020)(PDF173KB)
AIG02QW	Wilson	Can you please provide information about inclusion in insurance products in the following circumstances following a policy holder’s departure: (a) The impact on accessing health insurance (i.e. costs for testing and hospital stays) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that already has a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19. (b) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs incurred for self-quarantine) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that already has a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19. (c) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs for rescheduling flights) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that already has a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19. (d) The impact on accessing health insurance (i.e. costs for testing and hospital stays) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, but has subsequently done so. (e) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs incurred for self-quarantine) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, but has subsequently done so. (f) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs for rescheduling flights) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, but has subsequently done so. (g) The impact on accessing health insurance (i.e. costs for testing and hospital stays) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, and may do so in the future. (h) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs incurred for self-quarantine) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, and may do so in the future. (i) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs for rescheduling flights) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, and may do so in the future.	Written	(26 May 2020)(PDF180KB)
AIG03QW	Wilson	To what extent do your insurance policies for small business cover notifiable diseases under: (a) The Biosecurity Act 2015 (Cth)? And if not, why not? (b) The Quarantine Act 1908 (Cth)? And if not, why not? (c) What differences are there between what is covered under the Biosecurity Act 2015 (Cth) and the Quarantine Act 1908 (Cth)? (d) Are there any differences that apply based on the policies related to diseases covered under either?	Written	(26 May 2020)(PDF137KB)
AIG04QW	Wilson	To what extent do your insurance policies for small business not cover notifiable diseases under: (a) The Biosecurity Act 2015 (Cth)? And if not, why not? (b) The Quarantine Act 1908 (Cth)? And if not, why not? (c) What differences are there between what is covered under the Biosecurity Act 2015 (Cth) and the Quarantine Act 1908 (Cth)? (d) Are there any differences that apply based on the policies related to diseases covered under either?	Written	(26 May 2020)(PDF135KB)
AIG05QW	Leigh	For home and contents claims relating to the 2019-20 bushfire disasters, please provide: (a) the average length of time between registering a claim and payout; (b) the most common length of time between registering a claim and payout; and (c) the average percentage, across these bushfire claim pay outs, of the value of these bushfire related pay outs as a percentage of the insured value of the policy.	Written	(14 August 2020) (PDF100KB)
AIG06QW	Leigh	For home and contents claims in general over the last 5 years, please provide: (a) the average length of time between registering a claim and payout; (b) the most common length of time between registering a claim and payout; and (c) the average percentage, across all claim pay outs, of the value of these pay outs as a percentage of the insured value of the policy.	Written	(14 August 2020) (PDF90KB)

Allianz

No.	Member	Question	Hansard page and Hearing date or Written Questions	Response (Publication date)
ALZ01QW	Wilson	Can you please provide information about inclusion in insurance products in the following circumstances prior to a policy holder’s departure: (a) The impact on accessing health insurance (i.e. costs for testing and hospital stays) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that already has a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19. (b) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs incurred for self-quarantine) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that already has a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19. (c) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs for rescheduling flights) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that already has a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19. (d) The impact on accessing health insurance (i.e. costs for testing and hospital stays) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, but has subsequently done so. (e) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs incurred for self-quarantine) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, but has subsequently done so. (f) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs for rescheduling flights) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, but has subsequently done so. (g) The impact on accessing health insurance (i.e. costs for testing and hospital stays) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, and may do so in the future. (h) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs incurred for self-quarantine) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, and may do so in the future. (i) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs for rescheduling flights) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, and may do so in the future.	Written	(8 April 2020) (PDF207KB)
ALZ02QW	Wilson	Can you please provide information about inclusion in insurance products in the following circumstances following a policy holder’s departure: (a) The impact on accessing health insurance (i.e. costs for testing and hospital stays) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that already has a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19. (b) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs incurred for self-quarantine) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that already has a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19. (c) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs for rescheduling flights) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that already has a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19. (d) The impact on accessing health insurance (i.e. costs for testing and hospital stays) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, but has subsequently done so. (e) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs incurred for self-quarantine) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, but has subsequently done so. (f) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs for rescheduling flights) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, but has subsequently done so. (g) The impact on accessing health insurance (i.e. costs for testing and hospital stays) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, and may do so in the future. (h) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs incurred for self-quarantine) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, and may do so in the future. (i) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs for rescheduling flights) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, and may do so in the future.	Written	(8 April 2020) (PDF210KB)
ALZ03QW	Wilson	To what extent do your insurance policies for small business cover notifiable diseases under: (a) The Biosecurity Act 2015 (Cth)? And if not, why not? (b) The Quarantine Act 1908 (Cth)? And if not, why not? (c) What differences are there between what is covered under the Biosecurity Act 2015 (Cth) and the Quarantine Act 1908 (Cth)? (d) Are there any differences that apply based on the policies related to diseases covered under either?	Written	(17 April 2020) (PDF123KB)
ALZ04QW	Wilson	To what extent do your insurance policies for small business not cover notifiable diseases under: (a) The Biosecurity Act 2015 (Cth)? And if not, why not? (b) The Quarantine Act 1908 (Cth)? And if not, why not? (c) What differences are there between what is covered under the Biosecurity Act 2015 (Cth) and the Quarantine Act 1908 (Cth)? (d) Are there any differences that apply based on the policies related to diseases covered under either?	Written	(17 April 2020) (PDF121KB)
ALZ05QON	Bandt	Mr BANDT: Sorry to interrupt, but my question was about the projections into the future, based on where we're currently heading—not so much where we are at now, but where we're currently heading. What regions of Australia, according to your analysis based on current projections, are going to be difficult to insure because of cost or because they may not be insurable at all? Mr Feledy: I don't have that information at my fingertips. I would have to take that question on notice, in terms of the analysis we complete based on our exposure and the natural perils across Australia, but there is no region I would call out. Mr BANDT: If you could take that on notice and provide that to the committee, that would be great. Thank you.	Hansard pp. 32-33 28 April 2020	(9 June 2020)(PDF8KB)
ALZ06QON	Mulino	Dr MULINO: My first couple of questions are really a follow-up to the chair's questions on travel insurance. Apologies if this was covered and I missed it, but I really just want a couple of quantitative dimensions. I'm interested in how many claims, both in number and as a proportion, have been denied and how many travel insurance claims remain in dispute, just to get a sense of how much of a live issue this is. Mr Feledy: We have just over 10,000 current claims on travel that are being assessed. Dr MULINO: How many claims have been denied over the past few weeks? Mr Feledy: I don't have the numbers for the past few weeks at my fingertips, but it's an expectation that a large majority of those will be for cancellations where the known event and/or pandemic exclusion will apply, where the cancellation will be picked up by both of those exclusions. Dr MULINO: Feel free to take this on notice. Obviously, there are going to be grey areas. There will be some areas that are clearly excluded and some areas that will be disputed. It would just be very useful to get a sense of how this area of claims will evolve over the next few months. Obviously, we as MPs have a number of people reaching out to us who will claim that an entitlement is not being given. Some of those will be taken to dispute over time. I'm very interested in how this aspect of your business will evolve over the next few months. This is a little different to a natural disaster, as you pointed out: it's a systemic risk. Nonetheless, there are going to be some grey areas for some of the reasons that you and the chair discussed. Some claims turn out to be a bit more complicated. If you could provide a bit of data around that, it would be much appreciated. Mr Feledy: Absolutely. I will take that on notice, as these claims are going through the process at the moment. Further to some of the early discussions, we do encourage our customers to put through a claim—in particular, if they feel that they have a claim—and they are the claims that we are working through at this time. I will definitely make sure that we provide you with that information.	Hansard p. 33 28 April 2020	(9 June 2020) (PDF8KB)
ALZ07QW	Leigh	a) Do you have any life insurance coverage exclusions or increased premiums in relation to mental health conditions? (i) If so, what data have you used to determine the linkages between specific mental health conditions and related insurance claims? (b) Do your life insurance policies have exemptions relating to suicide? (i) Are there any special considerations with regard to how these exemptions are applied (e.g. the length of time a person has been insured)? (ii) How did you determine these considerations? (c) Do you have any special claims handling processes in place in relation to suicide? (i) In the event that a claim is denied, do you offer any support to the listed beneficiary? (d) There have been some suggestions, including recently by the Productivity Commission’s draft report into mental health, that the insurance industry’s voluntary code of conduct may not be sufficient and that insurance practices in relation to mental health and suicide continue to vary widely. Can you illustrate how practices are continuing to improve in light of the current code?	Written	(9 June 2020) (PDF115KB)
ALZ08QW	Leigh	For home and contents claims relating to the 2019-20 bushfire disasters, please provide: (a) the average length of time between registering a claim and payout; (b) the most common length of time between registering a claim and payout; and (c) the average percentage, across these bushfire claim pay outs, of the value of these bushfire related pay outs as a percentage of the insured value of the policy.	Written	(30 July 2020) (PDF11KB)
ALZ09QW	Leigh	For home and contents claims in general over the last 5 years, please provide: (a) the average length of time between registering a claim and payout; (b) the most common length of time between registering a claim and payout; and (c) the average percentage, across all claim pay outs, of the value of these pay outs as a percentage of the insured value of the policy.	Written	(30 July 2020) (PDF11KB)
ALZ11QON	Wilson	CHAIR: In terms of car insurance, which is obviously one of the many products that you offer, what has been the rate of increase in car insurance as a percentage for the past few years? Mr Feledy: Could I just clarify: is the question regarding premiums? CHAIR: In terms of the price of premiums, yes. Mr Feledy: Up until year to date, we have a six per cent rate increase flowing through our motor portfolio at the moment. CHAIR: And what was that in previous years? Mr Feledy: I'd have to go back and clarify year by year. I don't have the number for the last financial year at hand, so I'd have to take that on notice. CHAIR: Could you give us that data for the past five years, on notice?	Hansard p. 28 25 June 2021	(3 August 2021) (PDF11KB)
ALZ12QON	Leigh	Dr LEIGH: How many unfair contract terms did you remove or amend? Mr Feledy: I don't have a specific number on how many exact terms or changes were made, but I would be happy to take that on notice.	Hansard p. 29 25 June 2021	(11 August 2021) (PDF227KB)
ALZ13QON	Wilson	CHAIR: A final question from me: in light of the banking royal commission, how do you assess your obligation to put customers ahead of profit? Mr Feledy: I'm very pleased to say that the Voice of Customer program has never been louder in our organisation. The insights, the investments, the innovation that we've provided to make sure that we are getting direct feedback in real time around the Voice of Customer program that I talked about—but, to be quite clear, if you're not doing the right thing by your customer, it's a hygiene factor for a business. Yes, we are a commercial entity. Yes, we need to achieve our financial targets, but clearly you can't do that sustainably without representing the interests of your customer. I'd be more than happy to go into the detail of how we've invested to make sure that that Voice of Customer is amplified within our business. CHAIR: Why don't you provide that on notice and we'll take that on the record.	Hansard p. 33 25 June 2021	(3 August 2021) (PDF68KB)

AMP

No.

Member

Question

Hansard page
and Hearing date
or Written Questions

Response

(Publication date)

AMP01QW

Leigh

(a) Do you have any life insurance coverage exclusions or increased premiums in relation to mental health conditions?

(i) If so, what data have you used to determine the linkages between specific mental health conditions and related insurance claims?

(b) Do your life insurance policies have exemptions relating to suicide?

(i) Are there any special considerations with regard to how these exemptions are applied (e.g. the length of time a person has been insured)?

(ii) How did you determine these considerations?

(i) In the event that a claim is denied, do you offer any support to the listed beneficiary?

(d) There have been some suggestions, including recently by the Productivity Commission’s draft report into mental health, that the insurance industry’s voluntary code of conduct may not be sufficient and that insurance practices in relation to mental health and suicide continue to vary widely. Can you illustrate how practices are continuing to improve in light of the current code?

Written

(5 June 2020)(PDF147KB)

AON

No.	Member	Question	Hansard page and Hearing date or Written Questions	Response (Publication date)
AON01QW	Wilson	To what extent do your insurance policies for small business cover notifiable diseases under: (a) The Biosecurity Act 2015 (Cth)? And if not, why not? (b) The Quarantine Act 1908 (Cth)? And if not, why not? (c) What differences are there between what is covered under the Biosecurity Act 2015 (Cth) and the Quarantine Act 1908 (Cth)? (d) Are there any differences that apply based on the policies related to diseases covered under either?	Written	(16 April 2020)(PDF358KB)
AON02QW	Wilson	To what extent do your insurance policies for small business not cover notifiable diseases under: (a) The Biosecurity Act 2015 (Cth)? And if not, why not? (b) The Quarantine Act 1908 (Cth)? And if not, why not? (c) What differences are there between what is covered under the Biosecurity Act 2015 (Cth) and the Quarantine Act 1908 (Cth)? (d) Are there any differences that apply based on the policies related to diseases covered under either?	Written	(16 April 2020)(PDF336KB)

Australian Unity

No.	Member	Question	Hansard page and Hearing date or Written Questions	Response (Publication date)
AUN01QW	Leigh	In the period January 2019 to June 2020, per month: a. How many elective surgery procedures were covered, in each category (ie in Category 1-3 of elective surgery)? b. What was the amount of benefits paid out to policy holders for elective surgery procedures, in each category? c. How many claims were made for elective surgery procedures, in each category?	Written	(28 September 2020) (PDF152KB)

Auto & General

No.	Member	Question	Hansard page and Hearing date or Written Questions	Response (Publication date)
AGI01QW	Wilson	Can you please provide information about inclusion in insurance products in the following circumstances prior to a policy holder’s departure: (a) The impact on accessing health insurance (i.e. costs for testing and hospital stays) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that already has a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19. (b) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs incurred for self-quarantine) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that already has a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19. (c) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs for rescheduling flights) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that already has a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19. (d) The impact on accessing health insurance (i.e. costs for testing and hospital stays) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, but has subsequently done so. (e) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs incurred for self-quarantine) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, but has subsequently done so. (f) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs for rescheduling flights) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, but has subsequently done so. (g) The impact on accessing health insurance (i.e. costs for testing and hospital stays) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, and may do so in the future. (h) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs incurred for self-quarantine) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, and may do so in the future. (i) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs for rescheduling flights) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, and may do so in the future.	Written	(8 April 2020)(PDF627KB)
AGI02QW	Wilson	Can you please provide information about inclusion in insurance products in the following circumstances following a policy holder’s departure: (a) The impact on accessing health insurance (i.e. costs for testing and hospital stays) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that already has a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19. (b) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs incurred for self-quarantine) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that already has a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19. (c) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs for rescheduling flights) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that already has a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19. (d) The impact on accessing health insurance (i.e. costs for testing and hospital stays) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, but has subsequently done so. (e) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs incurred for self-quarantine) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, but has subsequently done so. (f) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs for rescheduling flights) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, but has subsequently done so. (g) The impact on accessing health insurance (i.e. costs for testing and hospital stays) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, and may do so in the future. (h) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs incurred for self-quarantine) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, and may do so in the future. (i) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs for rescheduling flights) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, and may do so in the future.	Written	(8 April 2020)(PDF589KB)
AGI03QW	Leigh	For home and contents claims relating to the 2019-20 bushfire disasters, please provide: (a) the average length of time between registering a claim and payout; (b) the most common length of time between registering a claim and payout; and (c) the average percentage, across these bushfire claim pay outs, of the value of these bushfire related pay outs as a percentage of the insured value of the policy.	Written	(30 July 2020) (PDF108KB)
AGI03QW	Leigh	For home and contents claims in general over the last 5 years, please provide: (a) the average length of time between registering a claim and payout; (b) the most common length of time between registering a claim and payout; and (c) the average percentage, across all claim pay outs, of the value of these pay outs as a percentage of the insured value of the policy.	Written	(30 July 2020) (PDF99KB)

Chubb

No.	Member	Question	Hansard page and Hearing date or Written Questions	Response (Publication date)
CHB01QW	Wilson	Can you please provide information about inclusion in insurance products in the following circumstances prior to a policy holder’s departure: (a) The impact on accessing health insurance (i.e. costs for testing and hospital stays) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that already has a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19. (b) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs incurred for self-quarantine) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that already has a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19. (c) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs for rescheduling flights) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that already has a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19. (d) The impact on accessing health insurance (i.e. costs for testing and hospital stays) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, but has subsequently done so. (e) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs incurred for self-quarantine) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, but has subsequently done so. (f) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs for rescheduling flights) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, but has subsequently done so. (g) The impact on accessing health insurance (i.e. costs for testing and hospital stays) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, and may do so in the future. (h) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs incurred for self-quarantine) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, and may do so in the future. (i) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs for rescheduling flights) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, and may do so in the future.	Written	(16 April 2020)(PDF184KB)
CHB02QW	Wilson	Can you please provide information about inclusion in insurance products in the following circumstances following a policy holder’s departure: (a) The impact on accessing health insurance (i.e. costs for testing and hospital stays) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that already has a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19. (b) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs incurred for self-quarantine) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that already has a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19. (c) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs for rescheduling flights) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that already has a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19. (d) The impact on accessing health insurance (i.e. costs for testing and hospital stays) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, but has subsequently done so. (e) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs incurred for self-quarantine) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, but has subsequently done so. (f) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs for rescheduling flights) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, but has subsequently done so. (g) The impact on accessing health insurance (i.e. costs for testing and hospital stays) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, and may do so in the future. (h) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs incurred for self-quarantine) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, and may do so in the future. (i) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs for rescheduling flights) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, and may do so in the future.	Written	(16 April 2020)(PDF107KB)
CHB03QW	Wilson	To what extent do your insurance policies for small business cover notifiable diseases under: (a) The Biosecurity Act 2015 (Cth)? And if not, why not? (b) The Quarantine Act 1908 (Cth)? And if not, why not? (c) What differences are there between what is covered under the Biosecurity Act 2015 (Cth) and the Quarantine Act 1908 (Cth)? (d) Are there any differences that apply based on the policies related to diseases covered under either?	Written	(16 April 2020)(PDF110KB)
CHB04QW	Wilson	To what extent do your insurance policies for small business not cover notifiable diseases under: (a) The Biosecurity Act 2015 (Cth)? And if not, why not? (b) The Quarantine Act 1908 (Cth)? And if not, why not? (c) What differences are there between what is covered under the Biosecurity Act 2015 (Cth) and the Quarantine Act 1908 (Cth)? (d) Are there any differences that apply based on the policies related to diseases covered under either?	Written	(16 April 2020)(PDF106KB)
CHB05QW	Leigh	For home and contents claims relating to the 2019-20 bushfire disasters, please provide: (a) the average length of time between registering a claim and payout; (b) the most common length of time between registering a claim and payout; and (c) the average percentage, across these bushfire claim pay outs, of the value of these bushfire related pay outs as a percentage of the insured value of the policy.	Written	(14 August 2020) (PDF38KB)
CHB06QW	Leigh	For home and contents claims in general over the last 5 years, please provide: (a) the average length of time between registering a claim and payout; (b) the most common length of time between registering a claim and payout; and (c) the average percentage, across all claim pay outs, of the value of these pay outs as a percentage of the insured value of the policy.	Written	(14 August 2020) (PDF38KB)

Clearview

No.	Member	Question	Hansard page and Hearing date or Written Questions	Response (Publication date)
CLV01QON	Leigh	Mr Swanson: Where there's uncertainty, our philosophy is to err on the side of the customer. The point we'd make about the 13-month exclusion for suicide is that obviously people who can select against the insurance pool would take advantage of it if the exclusion were for a shorter period. Dr LEIGH: How many claims have you denied over the course of the last year—or more, if you have that figure—using that suicide exemption? Mr Swanson: I don't have that number on me. I'm sorry. I'd have to respond to you. Dr LEIGH: Can you take it on notice and come back to us, please.	Hansard p. 38 28 April 2020	(13 May 2020)(PDF104KB)
CLV02QON	Leigh	Dr LEIGH: Can I ask you about the TPD insurance issue. You're probably aware of ASIC's report 663, Holes in the safety net. They talk in particular about concerns with the activities of daily living test and the strikingly high denial rates for the industry—around 60 per cent of claims under the ADL test. Does that apply to your product and, if so, do you know your denial rate under the activities of daily living test? Mr Swanson: I will try and answer those three questions. Firstly, ClearView doesn't do group life, so we're not exposed to the TPD complexity inside superannuation, inside industry funds and the like. With respect to our own activities of daily living, they are actually quite simply defined: 'dressing' is 'putting on and taking off clothing'; 'toileting' is 'using the toilet and managing bladder and bowel function'; 'mobilising' is 'getting in and out of bed and a chair'; 'bathing' is 'washing in a bath or a shower'; and 'feeding' is 'getting food from a plate into the mouth'. You only have to meet two of those tests and you are eligible to go on claim. The point I'd make about this is that, in advised life insurance, the chances of having arguments at claim time are far less than when you have high acceptance limits. So our view in underwriting is that we underwrite to pay the claim. We want to make sure many of the things you have alluded to are actually taken out at the start of the process so that, when something unfortunate happens to one of our customers, we can quickly pay the claim. With respect to your third question, which is around our own claim denial rates, can I take that on notice and respond? Dr LEIGH: You may. Are you able to tell me in broad terms whether you are above or below the industry average of 60 per cent? Mr Swanson: Far below the industry average—I know that for a fact—and that's across all claim types. Dr LEIGH: Specifically, you don't have a denial rate for activities of daily living test claims that is 60 per cent or more? Mr Swanson: Correct.	Hansard p. 39 28 April 2020	(13 May 2020)(PDF94KB)
CLV03QW	Leigh	(a) Do you have any life insurance coverage exclusions or increased premiums in relation to mental health conditions? (i) If so, what data have you used to determine the linkages between specific mental health conditions and related insurance claims? (b) Do your life insurance policies have exemptions relating to suicide? (i) Are there any special considerations with regard to how these exemptions are applied (e.g. the length of time a person has been insured)? (ii) How did you determine these considerations? (c) Do you have any special claims handling processes in place in relation to suicide? (i) In the event that a claim is denied, do you offer any support to the listed beneficiary? (d) There have been some suggestions, including recently by the Productivity Commission’s draft report into mental health, that the insurance industry’s voluntary code of conduct may not be sufficient and that insurance practices in relation to mental health and suicide continue to vary widely. Can you illustrate how practices are continuing to improve in light of the current code?	Written	(3 June 2020)(PDF373KB)
CLV04QON	Wilson	CHAIR: Mr Swanson, Mr Clark referred to the cost of implementing these requirements—I think it was $10 million for TAL. What is the estimated cost for ClearView? Mr Swanson: I can't answer that. I'll have to come back to you specifically. CHAIR: You can take it on notice. Mr Swanson: Yes, we'll take it on notice.	Hansard p. 18 25 June 2021	(3 August 2021) (PDF60KB)
CLV05QON	Wilson	CHAIR: Taking off my hat as chair of the economics committee, I'm also Chair of the Parliamentary Friends for Action on HIV/AIDS, Blood Borne Viruses and Sexually Transmitted Infections, and it was brought to my attention recently that HIV-positive Australians aren't eligible for life insurance, even though all the treatment options would now make it completely unjustifiable to deny it. I'm just wondering whether that is the case or not for a life insurance product. Mr Clark: I would have to check that. There has been a lot of evolution of underwriting processes in relation to a whole host of medical conditions in recent years. As the medical profession gets better at dealing with medical issues and as the insurance industry assesses those treatment options, underwriting approaches change all the time. I'd have to check exactly, more broadly, where we are around HIV conditions. CHAIR: That would be good. The average life expectancy of somebody who is HIV-positive is now exactly the same, basically, as that of any other member of the community, thanks to the wonders of modern medicine and treatment options. But my understanding is that some products are still denied to people. You make a point about underwriting, but it sounds to me like that may not be reflecting contemporary practice. I would appreciate if you'd look at that. Mr Swanson? Mr Swanson: Yes, I'd have to check that too, but I would say that, in a number of instances, I'm aware of people who have been able to get what are called limited-duration covers. Instead of having it to the age of 65, as an example, it's for the next 15 years. But I'd need to come back to you with specific details. CHAIR: So both of you will effectively take that on notice. Mr Swanson: Yes.	Hansard p. 26 25 June 2021	(3 August 2021) (PDF64KB)
CLV06QON	Wilson & Leigh	Dr LEIGH: Mr Swanson, I've just looked at your two most recent sets of half-year accounts. For the first half of calendar year 2020, ClearView is down $3 million. In the second half you're up $3 million. So overall profit for calendar year 2020 and calendar year 2019 is about the same—$23 million in both years. Your net asset value was up $13 million, though. I suppose it raises the question, given that many other firms have chosen to repay JobKeeper—Domino's, Toyota, Iluka—and that some 20,000 small businesses chose not to claim JobKeeper, because they judged that they didn't need it for their business: has ClearView considered repaying JobKeeper support, given the fact that your profits didn't tangibly fall in calendar 2020? Mr Swanson: It's not our intention at this stage to repay JobKeeper, because we took the view that it was about ensuring that staff maintained their employment levels and that there would be no need for any redundancies as a consequence. So that's why we did it. CHAIR: To follow on from the deputy chair's question, he asked whether it was considered. Was it considered at board level? Mr Swanson: No, not directly. Dr LEIGH: But there are many firms in Australia which didn't fire workers. Toyota didn't fire workers, and nor did Domino's or Iluka. They, nonetheless, chose to repay JobKeeper, because they didn't feel that their capital bottom line should benefit from a program that was designed for firms that were in real strife. You don't appear to have been in real strife last year. There were similar profits in 2020 and 2019. Is it really right for you to be getting $2.4 million of corporate welfare? Mr Swanson: Well, clearly, we do pay a fair piece of tax. Dr LEIGH: Everyone does. That doesn't mean you get corporate welfare. That's a completely different issue. Mr Swanson: ClearView followed the law and we took a view that the fairest thing to do was to do that, to ensure that we would not be in a position where we were forced to retrench people. That's the view we took. Dr LEIGH: I'm not asking you about following the law. I'm asking about whether you believe it is consistent with your corporate social responsibility to be receiving corporate welfare to the tune of $2.4 million at a time in which your profits didn't fall? Mr Swanson: The point of that was we were able to maintain employment to ensure our profits didn't fall, which means we are around to pay the claims in future as an organisation. Financial stability is obviously very important. There have been issues across the industry, as you're aware of, and that's why we got to the position we got to. Dr LEIGH: So you're telling me that if your profit last year had been $21 million, rather than $23 million, that you would have fired workers? Is that really what you're telling this committee under oath? Mr Swanson: I don't actually know, because we didn't go through that detailed process about the trade-off between that. We took a view that it was important to make sure that we could say to staff, 'This is a safe place to be and to stay employed,' at the time of the crisis. That's why we did it. It was a very different time almost a year ago. Dr LEIGH: But you're a life insurer, and we know that mortality fell in Australia, while it rose in other places. You're highly profitable. It isn't too late to do the right thing and repay the taxpayer. Would your board consider that? Mr Swanson: We would consider it, yes. Dr LEIGH: Will you commit to considering that at the next board meeting and to reporting back those deliberations to this committee? Mr Swanson: Yes.	Hansard pp. 21-22 25 June 2021	(3 August 2021) (PDF26KB)

Cover-More

No.	Member	Question	Hansard page and Hearing date or Written Questions	Response (Publication date)
CVM01QON	Wilson	CHAIR: Let's say I were to purchase a flight overseas or something like that. Have you got any analysis which would tell me the difference between taking out insurance at the time I purchase the ticket versus considering it at a later stage, say three days later? Mr Stein: Analysis in what regard, sorry? CHAIR: The likelihood of me taking out that insurance. If I was to go and buy a ticket through the travel agent and I was offered travel insurance, the chances of me being insured when I take the flight might be—I don't know—60 per cent. But if I did not purchase it at the time, the likelihood of me being covered when I got on said flight might only be 20 per cent. Do you have numbers equivalent to that? Mr Stein: I don't have any statistics of that at hand. I am happy to take that on notice. CHAIR: That would be good.	Hansard pp. 24-25 3 June 2020	(3 July 2020)(PDF98KB)
CVM02QON	Leigh	Dr LEIGH: Thanks very much, Ms Crompton and Mr Stein, for joining us today. We heard from the General Insurance Code Governance Committee this morning that there had been a massive increase in self-reported breaches from members—a 128 per cent increase in overall breach reports and a 310 per cent increase in reports of significant breaches. How many of those does Cover-More account for? Mr Stein: I would have to take that question on notice to provide you with the data, particularly because we would need to confirm with Zurich, who's the insurer on record and the code subscriber.	Hansard p. 27 3 June 2020	(3 July 2020)(PDF97KB)
CVM03QON	Leigh	Dr LEIGH: Let's go to significant breaches. The average significant breach affected 3,000 people, so you probably wouldn't forget about it. Did you have significant breaches that you reported in 2018-19? Mr Stein: Again, I would have to take that on notice and confirm with Zurich. The most relevant one from memory at the moment is COVID-19. Because of the significant influx of claims…	Hansard pp. 27-28 3 June 2020	(3 July 2020)(PDF88KB)
CVM04QON	Leigh	Dr LEIGH: … You said before that you had had to report a breach for failing to comply with the 10-day rule. How many customers are affected by that? Mr Stein: Certainly, the upper limit of that would be 10,000. There are 10,000 COVID related claims that are causing this spike. I can take that on notice and revert with an exact answer, though.	Hansard p. 28 3 June 2020	(3 July 2020)(PDF96KB)
CVM05QON	Leigh	Dr LEIGH: They were the significant breaches. In terms of self-reported breaches, I asked Mr Stein at our 3 June 2020 hearing how many breach reports had been issued by Cover-More. He took that on notice. I don't recall having received an answer, although I might be wrong. How many breaches did you commit? Ms Crompton: I believe we did submit an answer to that question, but I will take that on notice. If we didn't, I will ensure that's done. In terms of self-reporting, we submitted one report, which was about exceeding the time frame for the processing of our refunds. We asked our underwriter, Zurich Australia, to proactively notify ASIC that we were outside of the 15-day turnaround time. Dr LEIGH: You just told me there were two significant breach reports. I'm now asking about overall breach reports. Was there only one overall breach report? I'm puzzled by this. We're talking about 2019-20 here. Ms Crompton: I believe we had two significant breaches. One was self-reported, and the other was around the claims turnaround time. I will take that on notice to review. Dr LEIGH: And overall breaches? Ms Crompton: I'll need to take that on notice. Dr LEIGH: That's a little disappointing, I have to say. This is a question you were asked at the last hearing, and, at the last hearing, you took it on notice. I've got to say that I'm surprised that you can't tell me your number of overall breaches. We're here to follow up on the Hayne royal commission, which went to the misconduct of your industry. We're talking about breaches reported under your code, and today you can't tell me the number of breaches Cover-More committed in the last financial year. Ms Crompton: I have two significant breaches. I'm sorry, I don't have that information at hand about other breaches that aren't classed in the significant category. Dr LEIGH: Could you get your staff to look into that and report it back at the end of the time? I'm not particularly comfortable with having to leave this to a question on notice given that I'm asking about something that is pretty basic and ought to be in the briefing materials in front of you. What's happening to your overall business? How many insurance policies are you writing at the moment? How does that compare to pre-pandemic?	Hansard p. 12 25 June 2021	(3 August 2021) (PDF139KB)
CVM06QON	Leigh	Dr LEIGH: What's your ideal rejection rate for the industry? Right now, if someone puts in a claim, they roll the dice. If it comes up six, the claim gets rejected. That seems a pretty problematic situation. What rejection rate do you think the industry should be aiming towards? Presumably, zero isn't feasible. What's the ideal? Ms Crompton: You're right; zero isn't feasible. Our views on that would be commercially sensitive, and I would like to provide that on notice. CHAIR: I'm sorry, does 'commercially sensitive' mean that you want to provide it on notice in confidence or confidentially or— Ms Crompton: Yes, in confidence.	Hansard p. 13 25 June 2021	(3 August 2021) (PDF133KB)
CVM07QON	Hammond	Ms HAMMOND: I just want to pick up on something you said earlier, which was that you had less than a dozen disputes on claims for refunds on travel insurance. I might have misheard, but I think you said that it was to do with the wording of the pandemic coverage. My understanding is that all of your policies would use the same wording, so in what circumstances would some claims be disputed and other claims not be disputed? Ms Crompton: It could be around the timing of when the pandemic was announced, back in March last year, or it could just be people's lack of understanding that we're working through with them. Ms HAMMOND: Lack of understanding of what? Ms Crompton: Of the clarity of the wording in the product disclosure statements. Ms HAMMOND: So that would account for the dozen or so current disputes? Ms Crompton: Yes, it would. Ms HAMMOND: Can you give an example of one? Ms Crompton: I don't have such an example at my fingertips, and I apologise, but I will take that on notice. Ms HAMMOND: I'm still not clear as to why you've settled so many but then you still have a dozen that are in dispute when it's the same wording. Ms Crompton: Yes; I do apologise, but I don't have that information. Ms HAMMOND: Okay. CHAIR: Just for clarity: you are seeking a response on notice for that? Ms HAMMOND: Yes, please.	Hansard p. 13 25 June 2021	(3 August 2021) (PDF135KB)

Employers Mutual Limited

No.	Member	Question	Hansard page and Hearing date or Written Questions	Response (Publication date)
EML01QW	Leigh	a. For rejected or denied insurance claims across all your products, what are the average and median times, from the initiation of a claim to the decision on it? b. For approved insurance claims across all your products, what are the average and median times, from the initiation of a claim to the decision on it? c. For each of the last three reporting years, please complete the table below for each of the following products (if provided): Workplace Insurance / Accident Insurance / Income protection insurance.	Written	(28 September 2020) (PDF109KB)

Gallagher Bassett Services Workers Compensation

No.	Member	Question	Hansard page and Hearing date or Written Questions	Response (Publication date)
GAL01QW	Leigh	a. For rejected or denied insurance claims across all your products, what are the average and median times, from the initiation of a claim to the decision on it? b. For approved insurance claims across all your products, what are the average and median times, from the initiation of a claim to the decision on it? c. For each of the last three reporting years, please complete the table below for each of the following products (if provided): Workplace Insurance / Accident Insurance / Income protection insurance.	Written	(28 September 2020) (PDF625KB)

Genworth

No.

Member

Question

Hansard page
and Hearing date
or Written Questions

Response

(Publication date)

GEN03QON

Wilson

CHAIR: Sure, I understand that. On one hand, you've said that you have made a projection based on a five per cent reduction in the fourth quarter of this year. On the other hand, you're saying that you can't really do an assessment on your own impact, because you don't know who is going to be impacted because of loan deferrals and JobKeeper. Can you see why it's difficult for me to understand how you can feel confident in either of the assessments. I agree with your assessment that loan deferrals and JobKeeper make it difficult to assess your policy holders, but doesn't it make it harder for exactly the same reasons on the other side of the ledger about the number of people likely to be impacted and, therefore, the likely reduction in house prices?

Mr Dean: Let me clarify: through the modelling work that we have done, we have formed a view on the potential impact on the people that we have insured—so on our insured portfolio. So we do have that today as part of our analysis. That is obviously based on our assumptions for how we think the environment will play out in the future, and that will obviously evolve over time as we get more information and we start to see more trends in the economic environment in the coming weeks and months. So we do have a view.

CHAIR: Would you then be prepared to take it on notice for us, knowing that you don't have the information? When it comes forward, would you provide to the committee an analysis of what you think the likely impact is going to be when JobKeeper is finished and you've done that analysis?

Mr Dean: Yes, certainly.

CHAIR: Okay, take that on notice then.

Hansard p. 22

3 June 2020

(3 July 2020)(PDF95KB)

Guild Insurance Limited

No.	Member	Question	Hansard page and Hearing date or Written Questions	Response (Publication date)
GIL01QW	Leigh	a. For rejected or denied insurance claims across all your products, what are the average and median times, from the initiation of a claim to the decision on it? b. For approved insurance claims across all your products, what are the average and median times, from the initiation of a claim to the decision on it? c. For each of the last three reporting years, please complete the table below for each of the following products (if provided): Workplace Insurance / Accident Insurance / Income protection insurance.	Written	(28 September 2020) (PDF177KB)

HBF

No.	Member	Question	Hansard page and Hearing date or Written Questions	Response (Publication date)
HBF01QW	Leigh	In the period January 2019 to June 2020, per month: a. How many elective surgery procedures were covered, in each category (ie in Category 1-3 of elective surgery)? b. What was the amount of benefits paid out to policy holders for elective surgery procedures, in each category? c. How many claims were made for elective surgery procedures, in each category?	Written	(28 September 2020) (PDF247KB)

Hollard

No.	Member	Question	Hansard page and Hearing date or Written Questions	Response (Publication date)
HOL01QW	Wilson	Can you please provide information about inclusion in insurance products in the following circumstances prior to a policy holder’s departure: (a) The impact on accessing health insurance (i.e. costs for testing and hospital stays) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that already has a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19. (b) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs incurred for self-quarantine) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that already has a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19. (c) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs for rescheduling flights) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that already has a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19. (d) The impact on accessing health insurance (i.e. costs for testing and hospital stays) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, but has subsequently done so. (e) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs incurred for self-quarantine) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, but has subsequently done so. (f) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs for rescheduling flights) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, but has subsequently done so. (g) The impact on accessing health insurance (i.e. costs for testing and hospital stays) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, and may do so in the future. (h) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs incurred for self-quarantine) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, and may do so in the future. (i) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs for rescheduling flights) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, and may do so in the future.	Written	(9 June 2020)(PDF180KB)
HOL02QW	Wilson	Can you please provide information about inclusion in insurance products in the following circumstances following a policy holder’s departure: (a) The impact on accessing health insurance (i.e. costs for testing and hospital stays) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that already has a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19. (b) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs incurred for self-quarantine) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that already has a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19. (c) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs for rescheduling flights) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that already has a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19. (d) The impact on accessing health insurance (i.e. costs for testing and hospital stays) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, but has subsequently done so. (e) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs incurred for self-quarantine) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, but has subsequently done so. (f) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs for rescheduling flights) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, but has subsequently done so. (g) The impact on accessing health insurance (i.e. costs for testing and hospital stays) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, and may do so in the future. (h) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs incurred for self-quarantine) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, and may do so in the future. (i) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs for rescheduling flights) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, and may do so in the future.	Written	(9 June 2020)(PDF219KB)
HOL03QW	Wilson	To what extent do your insurance policies for small business cover notifiable diseases under: (a) The Biosecurity Act 2015 (Cth)? And if not, why not? (b) The Quarantine Act 1908 (Cth)? And if not, why not? (c) What differences are there between what is covered under the Biosecurity Act 2015 (Cth) and the Quarantine Act 1908 (Cth)? (d) Are there any differences that apply based on the policies related to diseases covered under either?	Written	(9 June 2020)(PDF145KB)
HOL04QW	Wilson	To what extent do your insurance policies for small business not cover notifiable diseases under: (a) The Biosecurity Act 2015 (Cth)? And if not, why not? (b) The Quarantine Act 1908 (Cth)? And if not, why not? (c) What differences are there between what is covered under the Biosecurity Act 2015 (Cth) and the Quarantine Act 1908 (Cth)? (d) Are there any differences that apply based on the policies related to diseases covered under either?	Written	(9 June 2020)(PDF135KB)
HOL05QW	Leigh	For home and contents claims relating to the 2019-20 bushfire disasters, please provide: (a) the average length of time between registering a claim and payout; (b) the most common length of time between registering a claim and payout; and (c) the average percentage, across these bushfire claim pay outs, of the value of these bushfire related pay outs as a percentage of the insured value of the policy.	Written	(30 July 2020) (PDF135KB)
HOL06QW	Leigh	For home and contents claims in general over the last 5 years, please provide: (a) the average length of time between registering a claim and payout; (b) the most common length of time between registering a claim and payout; and (c) the average percentage, across all claim pay outs, of the value of these pay outs as a percentage of the insured value of the policy.	Written	(30 July 2020) (PDF133KB)

Insurance Australia Group

No.	Member	Question	Hansard page and Hearing date or Written Questions	Response (Publication date)
IAG01QW	Wilson	Can you please provide information about inclusion in insurance products in the following circumstances prior to a policy holder’s departure: (a) The impact on accessing health insurance (i.e. costs for testing and hospital stays) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that already has a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19. (b) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs incurred for self-quarantine) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that already has a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19. (c) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs for rescheduling flights) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that already has a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19. (d) The impact on accessing health insurance (i.e. costs for testing and hospital stays) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, but has subsequently done so. (e) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs incurred for self-quarantine) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, but has subsequently done so. (f) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs for rescheduling flights) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, but has subsequently done so. (g) The impact on accessing health insurance (i.e. costs for testing and hospital stays) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, and may do so in the future. (h) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs incurred for self-quarantine) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, and may do so in the future. (i) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs for rescheduling flights) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, and may do so in the future.	Written	(16 April 2020)(PDF236KB)
IAG02QW	Wilson	Can you please provide information about inclusion in insurance products in the following circumstances following a policy holder’s departure: (a) The impact on accessing health insurance (i.e. costs for testing and hospital stays) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that already has a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19. (b) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs incurred for self-quarantine) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that already has a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19. (c) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs for rescheduling flights) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that already has a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19. (d) The impact on accessing health insurance (i.e. costs for testing and hospital stays) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, but has subsequently done so. (e) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs incurred for self-quarantine) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, but has subsequently done so. (f) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs for rescheduling flights) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, but has subsequently done so. (g) The impact on accessing health insurance (i.e. costs for testing and hospital stays) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, and may do so in the future. (h) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs incurred for self-quarantine) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, and may do so in the future. (i) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs for rescheduling flights) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, and may do so in the future.	Written	(16 April 2020)(PDF236KB)
IAG03QW	Wilson	To what extent do your insurance policies for small business cover notifiable diseases under: (a) The Biosecurity Act 2015 (Cth)? And if not, why not? (b) The Quarantine Act 1908 (Cth)? And if not, why not? (c) What differences are there between what is covered under the Biosecurity Act 2015 (Cth) and the Quarantine Act 1908 (Cth)? (d) Are there any differences that apply based on the policies related to diseases covered under either?	Written	(16 April 2020)(PDF141KB)
IAG04QW	Wilson	To what extent do your insurance policies for small business not cover notifiable diseases under: (a) The Biosecurity Act 2015 (Cth)? And if not, why not? (b) The Quarantine Act 1908 (Cth)? And if not, why not? (c) What differences are there between what is covered under the Biosecurity Act 2015 (Cth) and the Quarantine Act 1908 (Cth)? (d) Are there any differences that apply based on the policies related to diseases covered under either?	Written	(16 April 2020)(PDF159KB)
IAG05QON	Wilson	CHAIR: Right. When you say 'contact' do you mean you don't have contact details, or is that simply a process thing? Mr Harmer: We have, if memory serves me right, written to them four times—I think that was the agreement with ASIC—and we have advertised on our websites et cetera. So it was 38,000 customers out of the 65,000 who received a refund. When they were contacted, some customers wanted to maintain the cover and didn't require a refund. CHAIR: What share of the gap is that? Mr Harmer: I don't have those numbers, I'd have to take that on notice. But I don't think it would have been significant. CHAIR: Okay—can you find out and, yes, provide that on notice? It seems to me that if you have $23 million of $39 million refunded, there is obviously still $16 million that hasn't been. I accept that some people may not be contactable and that others may wish to continue with the policies in some way, shape or form, but that's still quite a significant gap. What measures are being taken now to make sure that gap is filled?	Hansard p. 21 29 April 2020	(3 June 2020)(PDF115KB)
IAG06QON	Wilson	CHAIR: Yesterday, when we were speaking to some other insurance groups, questions or examples were raised where people were looking at the consequences directly associated with suicide risk, particularly as a result of people with life insurance understanding whether they are covered by their life insurance policies. Unfortunately, the assumption was that, in part, people were making sure that they checked before potentially taking one course of action or another. Have you detected any examples of that through your processes to identify people who are at risk or vulnerable? Mr Harmer: We would have. I don't have specifics now. I can take that on notice. If your question is about how we've been able to identify customers with mental health issues who need a tailored solution, the answer is yes, but I don't have any examples with me today. CHAIR: If you could get me data on that on notice that would be good, but it was also whether there were any inquiries about coverage, which is what was raised with us yesterday: people calling up about their life insurance policy and asking whether they were covered in the event of suicide. If so, how were those responded to as an organisation to make sure that was appropriately addressed?	Hansard pp. 22-23 29 April 2020	(3 June 2020)(PDF102KB)
IAG07QON	Leigh	Dr LEIGH: Thank you very much, Mr Harmer, for joining us today. During the bushfire crisis earlier this year, you put in place an embargo on some 20 postcodes in Victoria and New South Wales. Why did you do that, and how long did the embargo last? Mr Harmer: Firstly, the embargoes lasted, I think, from a few days to some weeks. Again, I don't have specific details. If required, I can take that on notice. The embargoes are put in place to avoid people who would otherwise be uninsured simply getting in contact with us as the fire approaches their property to then take out insurance.	Hansard p. 23 29 April 2020	(3 June 2020)(PDF114KB)
IAG08QON	Mulino	Dr MULINO: Thanks for giving evidence today. How many disputes have already arisen in relation to COVID-19 claims? Mr Harmer: I do have some numbers here. At the moment, across our travel insurance claims, which is where we've seen the early activity, we have two quite different products in market—one through the CGU brand, which is underwritten by ourselves, and another through our NRMA, SGIO and SGIC brands, which is underwritten by Zurich Insurance through their agency Cover-More; we distribute that product on their behalf. We are not large travel insurers, in the first instance. We have something in the order of 4½ thousand claims to date: about 2½ thousand of those have already been paid; I think there are about 400 to 500—I will take that on notice and make sure I'm giving you accurate information—that have been declined; and the remainder are still working their way through the system. I think it would be safe to assume that some of those, at least—I wouldn't hazard a guess as to percentage—will be for cancellation cover where, in fact, the policy was taken out after COVID-19 becoming a known event; therefore, they won't be covered. Dr MULINO: It'd be great to get an update on that in a couple of months as well, please. Mr Harmer: Yes.	Hansard pp. 27-28 29 April 2020	(3 June 2020)(PDF120KB) Attachment (3 July 2020) (PDF120KB)
IAG09QON	Mulino	Dr MULINO: The other aspect of COVID-19 that I'm interested in—and this is a fast-changing situation, so I don't think it's necessarily going to flow through much—is the extent to which the economic impacts of COVID-19 are going to be reflected in people either not renewing or not taking up, or perhaps even changing the profile of, their insurance. To some degree, that's going to be muted in the short term by you providing flexibility and deferring people's premiums. Even allowing for that, are there any areas of your business where you've seen people not renewing, or, if you look at this year's business compared to last year's, where there is what you may see as a change in take-up rates or organic growth? Mr Harmer: Let me try and break that down between retail and commercial. Presently, we're not seeing a noticeable increase in nonrenewals from our existing home and motor customers, in large part, I suspect, because of the work of our customer care team, who are able to actually resolve the customers' issues or concerns in a way that allows them to stay insured. We are seeing more cancellations from small businesses, and I expect that to increase as time unfolds, as you point out. New business rates at the moment are probably at around 20 per cent of what we would normally expect to see, and that may well be a function of not just the economic slowdown but also uncertainty, with customers feeling they should just stay with the insurer they have. I think you're absolutely right: the longer this challenge is in front of us, the more concerns we will have about the level of insurance penetration in the country. Dr MULINO: It would be great if we could get updates on that in, say, two and three months just to get a sense of where there might be some areas of concern.	Hansard p. 28 29 April 2020	(3 June 2020)(PDF105KB)
IAG10QON	Mulino	Dr MULINO: …The last question I have goes back to some of the issues that you were discussing with Mr Bandt and Dr Leigh, and it's about affordability. I think, as you've alluded to, there's a broader insurance issue across the country as a whole that's been evolving for some time now; climate change is likely to exacerbate that. Then there are some more-localised issues, like storms in FNQ. I'm just wondering: do you have data over the last few years that might point to communities where this is manifesting itself in people not taking up insurance or not purchasing enough insurance? I'm thinking here across, for example, both home and contents insurance and small-business insurance. Mr Harmer: I think we would have some of that data; certainly we would have that data at an industry level. I'm just trying to think logically. We may not be entirely sure of our market share or the level of insurance penetration in those sorts of local areas, but, potentially, industry data could give us a view on that. Dr MULINO: Yes, because we were talking earlier about the fact that we could imagine moving towards a two-track world, where insurance is unaffordable for parts of the community. As you say, that data's probably best done at the industry level, because individual firms' market share changes in particular communities. But it would be interesting to see the extent to which that's already arising, and Far North Queensland might be an example of that. There's been concern for some time now about storm insurance in particular, and I imagine there are some people who get insurance that excludes that and some people who probably just don't insure at the moment. Mr Harmer: I think that would be correct. Anecdotally, I would say, for example, that there are people living on the banks of the Bremer River who choose not to buy flood insurance, when they're probably exactly the people who do need flood insurance. In fact, they probably need it as an investment in mitigating the floods. Dr MULINO: Yes. That data may help us at the government level—and at the community level, more broadly—to think about which mitigation projects should be prioritised, if we see pockets of underinsurance. Mr Harmer: Yes, I'm sure that's right.	Hansard p. 28 29 April 2020	(3 June 2020)(PDF133KB)
IAG15QON	Leigh	Dr LEIGH: There's a current investigation being handled by your board chair into matters brought to the attention of the board by a whistleblower in March regarding a senior IAG executive. Current and former staff are being interviewed. The whistleblower was promised a response by the IAG independent investigator in late May, but hasn't got one. Is that correct? Mr Hawkins: The whistleblower process within our company would be dealt with directly by the board. We have quite a process there that the executive team are not involved in, so I don't know if I can respond to the specifics of that question other than to say maybe I can take that on notice. It sounds like that doesn't sound reasonable, if the response hasn't occurred over a period of time, and I'll ensure that that message is provided up to the process of IAG. Dr LEIGH: Well, when does IAG intend to finalise the investigation? Mr Hawkins: We don't have that information—people like me and others in the executive management team. If it's a whistleblower incident, it's part of the protocol and the process of the company. So, to provide that information. I will need to engage with the board and the chairman in particular around the particular incident and the timing of the feedback to the individual whistleblower. Dr LEIGH: Has Nick Hawkins been interviewed or briefed as part of the investigation? Mr Hawkins: Currently, we occasionally do have whistleblower incidents. I'm not familiar with, in particular, this one, and that would normally be the case as well. We have protocols and processes in place to protect the whistleblower in particular and to ensure we have due process. Dr LEIGH: Just to be clear, have you been interviewed as part of this? Mr Hawkins: I'm not familiar with the particular issue but, no, I haven't been interviewed. Dr LEIGH: It just goes to how seriously you take the investigation if you're not getting back to the whistleblower within three months. It does suggest that maybe IAG is taking a fairly lax approach to whistleblower claims. Mr Hawkins: Can I go back, put that into our process and get feedback? Dr LEIGH: I appreciate your desire to take it on notice. So you haven't been interviewed and you're saying you haven't been briefed on it either? Mr Hawkins: The process for whistleblowers at IAG, as I think I've just said, is that, for the protection of the whistleblower as such, there is a process that goes through to the board. There is an independent process around that to ensure that management are not involved in the investigation of any particular issue. There was a three-month delay, which is disappointing, I must say. That doesn't sound like our process [inaudible]. There may be several here, by the way. We ensure that we're appropriately giving feedback to any of those parties involved.	Hansard pp. 45-46 25 June 2021	(3 August 2021) (PDF79KB)
IAG16QON	Wilson	CHAIR: I want to ask a quick follow on question to the one raised by the deputy chair around net zero for IAG. What is your greenhouse gas emissions profile? Mr Hawkins: At the moment, we buy to be neutral CHAIR: You buy to be neutral—so you're already neutral? Mr Hawkins: At the moment the profile of our company [inaudible] and that's been the case for, I'd say, 10 years. CHAIR: Is that scope 1, scope 2 and scope 3 emissions? Mr Hawkins: I'll come back to you on that, sorry, but I believe it is. CHAIR: You'll take that on notice then. Mr Hawkins: I will.	Hansard p. 46 25 June 2021	(3 August 2021) (PDF85KB)

Insurance Council of Australia

No.	Member	Question	Hansard page and Hearing date or Written Questions	Response (Publication date)
ICA05QON	Wilson	CHAIR: How many would involve historical complaints, which therefore might be self-reported and would mean that there would be a reduction, versus the number that are over a financial year and therefore may continue to either rise or stay stagnant? Mr Whelan: I don't have the information on the longevity of some of these breaches. Some of them will be complex in nature due to system failures or something along those lines. I don't have that information, but I'm happy to take that on notice if necessary.	Hansard p. 11 3 June 2020	(3 July 2020)(PDF121KB)
ICA06QON	Leigh	Dr LEIGH: There was a report in the Financial Review a month ago saying that travel insurance complaints reported to AFCA had soared, giving the example of a couple, Alexandra Raine and Gabriel Christensen, who were denied a claim for losses relating to a skiing holiday on the basis that their decision ought to have anticipated the pandemic. That was despite the fact that they paid for the insurance before the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic. Have you spoken to some of your members that offer travel insurance about this issue—the question of whether travellers should have anticipated that COVID-19 related claims would be excluded? It seems like a loophole that some of your members are trying to drive a truck through. Mr Whelan: I can't go to the specifics of that particular claim, but pandemics are a broad exclusion in policies. As far as I'm aware that claim would have been denied on the basis of that particular blanket exclusion. I can't go into the details of that particular instance, but I'm happy to take anything further on that on notice.	Hansard p. 14 3 June 2020	(3 July 2020)(PDF78KB)
ICA07QON	Leigh	Dr LEIGH: Yes, but it's one thing to say 'known event' in broad terms; it's another thing to name COVID-19. Mr Sullivan: Most of the known-event exclusions that have been initiated do name COVID-19 or similar diseases. Dr LEIGH: But not all? Mr Sullivan: I'm happy to come back to you on notice about that and give you a list of those known-event exclusions. Dr LEIGH: That would be great. Could I get from you a list of known-event exclusions by the date on which they were put into effect, the policy name, and specifically whether they named COVID-19 or whether they expected the traveller to just figure it out for themselves.	Hansard p. 15 3 June 2020	(3 July 2020)(PDF192KB)
ICA08QON	Aly	Mr Sullivan: It will only apply to certain aspects of the travel, of course. Most of the policies are purchased either through an agent or online. If you're purchasing online—and I'd invite everyone to have a look at some of those online websites—it's made very, very clear right at the top of websites when there is a known-event exclusion that might impact the sale of those policies, or how those policies are affected. For insurers who don't rely on known-event exclusions, it is in the product disclosure statement that the person is supplied with at the time of purchasing. Dr ALY: Would you be able to take on notice to let us know on what date that exclusion would have appeared on websites?	Hansard p. 15 3 June 2020	(3 July 2020)(PDF149KB)
ICA09QON	Wilson	CHAIR: Cybercrimes and ransoms are an increasing risk. Is there any experience that you're aware of where an insurance company in Australia has paid out a ransom as a consequence of a cyberattack, and is there a policy position? I understand in Britain and France they're pushing against insurers paying for such ransoms. Mr Hall: I'd have to take the question on notice and go back to our working group and check the details. Cyber is an increasingly complex and challenging area for insurers as well, and we've seen some very high-profile cyberattacks over recent months in Australia. These are often run by state-based actors. I think the debate that is happening globally around cyber is very similar to the issues that arose 20 years ago post 9/11 with terrorism. These are often state-based actors that are performing these attacks, and, while there is impact on business and the like, if there is a motive of terrorism or other things sitting behind it, that obviously proves a huge challenge to be able to achieve coverage through an insurance pool.	Hansard p. 3 25 June 2021	Responses to Questions 9-11 (3 August 2021) (PDF190KB)
ICA10QON	Murphy	Ms MURPHY: … But the fine print is that various insurance companies continue to have contracts where they refer to a piece of legislation that doesn't exist anymore. There was clearly anticipation of things like global pandemics, but these contracts, the fine print, don't say what they're now being argued to say. That's a pretty unclear situation, right? … Mr Hall: Ms Knight, do you want to explain the legal principle behind the argument in the first test case, as opposed to the second test case where we're testing actual policy wordings around radius and outbreak and the like? Ms Knight: The legal argument is that the commercial intention of the parties was that the pandemic would be excluded and that there has been a mistake, as you said, in that there was reference to a piece of legislation that has now been replaced by the Biosecurity Act. The legal argument remains that the commercial intention of the parties should be given to the insurance contracts. Ms MURPHY: Which undermines the previous answers, about not being able to predict there would be a pandemic, right? CHAIR: I'm sorry, Ms Knight, have you finished your answer? Otherwise, we do need to move on. Ms Knight: I've finished that—if you want me to respond to Ms Murphy's question, I can. CHAIR: Unfortunately, we really don't have time, because we have other witnesses waiting. You're welcome to provide a response on notice, if that's alright with you. Mr Hall: We'll have an outcome from the High Court in the next couple of hours anyway.	Hansard p. 8 25 June 2021
ICA11QON	Mulino	Dr MULINO: This is my last question. Going again back to flood, we legislated a standard definition. Do all travel companies use the same definition of 'pandemic'? Ms Crompton: I don't know the definition that some of our competitors would use. I would imagine we do— Dr MULINO: I can ask the ICA on another occasion, on notice. I suspect they probably don't, to be honest.	Hansard p. 15 25 June 2021

Marsh

No.

Member

Question

Hansard page
and Hearing date
or Written Questions

Response
(Publication date)

MAR01QON

Wilson

Mr Leney: Thank you, Chair. I've got Craig and Travis with me. Craig will be best placed to discuss classes of insurance, such as D&O and professional indemnity, including the impact of class actions, and Travis will be best placed to discuss insurance issues arising out of the SME sector. I'll now make a few comments about our organisation and our role.
Marsh is an international insurance broking firm with its headquarters in the United States and with operations in well over 130 countries. We are the largest global insurance broking firm. In Australia, we serve clients in three main segments: (1) risk management, which is our large and complex clients, including multinational corporations, requiring risk advisory, speciality and risk financing advice and solutions, which includes insurance broking; (2) corporate consumer and affinity segment, which is our SME middle-market and group buying clients, where there's still a need for risk advice, but the core service to these clients is insurance broking; and (3) public sector, a specialised segment integrating risk, insurance broking and claims management for government entities. We work with clients of all sizes to understand, quantify and manage risk, and provide options to secure insurance from local Australian and global insurance markets. Insurance broker colleagues apply deep experience and knowledge of client's industries to secure fit-for-purpose insurance cover for their clients with the aim of reducing their total cost of risk, and a big part of that is insurance cost.
It's important to note that Marsh is not an insurer, and our colleagues in the insurance broking profession in Australia do not in the main sell insurance. We and our colleagues principally act for and on behalf of our clients—Australian businesses and consumers—and we arrange for the purchase of insurance on their behalf. Acting for and on behalf of clients gives them access to valuable expertise in relevance to the operation of insurance markets and to the products and services available in those markets. We regularly access a wide range of insurers both in Australia and overseas to secure broad insurance coverage at the most competitive premiums for our clients. Over the last 18 months the COVID-19 pandemic has affected all of us both personally and professionally. Our teams across Australia have been working incredibly hard to help clients manage the rapidly changing risk landscape and to navigate through the continued hard insurance market cycle.
Finally, I'd like to reference the Deloitte Access Economics report on the role and economic value of insurance broking in Australia. This report sets out the value provided by insurance brokers to clients, to the insurance market, and to the economy and community more broadly. If it would help, we can provide a copy of the Deloitte report to the committee for future reference. Thank you, Chairman. We're happy to assist in any way we can today.
CHAIR: … Secondly, it would be helpful if you did provide a copy of that report on notice. …

Hansard p. 50

25 June 2021

(3 August 2021)
(PDF3,483KB)

Medibank

No.	Member	Question	Hansard page and Hearing date or Written Questions	Response (Publication date)
MED01QW	Leigh	In the period January 2019 to June 2020, per month: a. How many elective surgery procedures were covered, in each category (ie in Category 1-3 of elective surgery)? b. What was the amount of benefits paid out to policy holders for elective surgery procedures, in each category? c. How many claims were made for elective surgery procedures, in each category?	Written	(28 September 2020) (PDF133KB)

MLC

No.

Member

Question

Hansard page
and Hearing date
or Written Questions

Response

(Publication date)

MLC01QW

Leigh

(a) Do you have any life insurance coverage exclusions or increased premiums in relation to mental health conditions?

(i) If so, what data have you used to determine the linkages between specific mental health conditions and related insurance claims?

(b) Do your life insurance policies have exemptions relating to suicide?

(i) Are there any special considerations with regard to how these exemptions are applied (e.g. the length of time a person has been insured)?

(ii) How did you determine these considerations?

(i) In the event that a claim is denied, do you offer any support to the listed beneficiary?

Written

(9 June 2020)(PDF807KB)

Metlife

No.

Member

Question

Hansard page
and Hearing date
or Written Questions

Response

(Publication date)

MET01QW

Leigh

(a) Do you have any life insurance coverage exclusions or increased premiums in relation to mental health conditions?

(i) If so, what data have you used to determine the linkages between specific mental health conditions and related insurance claims?

(b) Do your life insurance policies have exemptions relating to suicide?

(i) Are there any special considerations with regard to how these exemptions are applied (e.g. the length of time a person has been insured)?

(ii) How did you determine these considerations?

(i) In the event that a claim is denied, do you offer any support to the listed beneficiary?

Written

(9 June 2020)(PDF389KB)

Attachment(PDF115KB)

NIB

No.	Member	Question	Hansardpage andHearing date or Written Questions	Response (Publication date)
NIB01QW	Wilson	Can you please provide information about inclusion in insurance products in the following circumstances prior to a policy holder’s departure: (a) The impact on accessing health insurance (i.e. costs for testing and hospital stays) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that already has a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19. (b) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs incurred for self-quarantine) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that already has a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19. (c) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs for rescheduling flights) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that already has a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19. (d) The impact on accessing health insurance (i.e. costs for testing and hospital stays) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, but has subsequently done so. (e) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs incurred for self-quarantine) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, but has subsequently done so. (f) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs for rescheduling flights) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, but has subsequently done so. (g) The impact on accessing health insurance (i.e. costs for testing and hospital stays) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, and may do so in the future. (h) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs incurred for self-quarantine) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, and may do so in the future. (i) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs for rescheduling flights) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, and may do so in the future.	Written	(16 August 2021) (PDF142KB)
NIB02QW	Wilson	Can you please provide information about inclusion in insurance products in the following circumstances following a policy holder’s departure: (a) The impact on accessing health insurance (i.e. costs for testing and hospital stays) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that already has a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19. (b) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs incurred for self-quarantine) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that already has a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19. (c) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs for rescheduling flights) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that already has a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19. (d) The impact on accessing health insurance (i.e. costs for testing and hospital stays) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, but has subsequently done so. (e) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs incurred for self-quarantine) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, but has subsequently done so. (f) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs for rescheduling flights) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, but has subsequently done so. (g) The impact on accessing health insurance (i.e. costs for testing and hospital stays) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, and may do so in the future. (h) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs incurred for self-quarantine) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, and may do so in the future. (i) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs for rescheduling flights) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, and may do so in the future.	Written	(16 August 2021) (PDF143KB)
NIB03QW	Leigh	In the period January 2019 to June 2020, per month: a. How many elective surgery procedures were covered, in each category (ie in Category 1-3 of elective surgery)? b. What was the amount of benefits paid out to policy holders for elective surgery procedures, in each category? c. How many claims were made for elective surgery procedures, in each category?	Written	(16 August 2021) (PDF143KB)

QBE

No.	Member	Question	Hansard page and Hearing date or Written Questions	Response (Publication date)
QBE01QW	Wilson	To what extent do your insurance policies for small business cover notifiable diseases under: (a) The Biosecurity Act 2015 (Cth)? And if not, why not? (b) The Quarantine Act 1908 (Cth)? And if not, why not? (c) What differences are there between what is covered under the Biosecurity Act 2015 (Cth) and the Quarantine Act 1908 (Cth)? (d) Are there any differences that apply based on the policies related to diseases covered under either?	Written	(16 April 2020)(PDF189KB)
QBE02QW	Wilson	To what extent do your insurance policies for small business not cover notifiable diseases under: (a) The Biosecurity Act 2015 (Cth)? And if not, why not? (b) The Quarantine Act 1908 (Cth)? And if not, why not? (c) What differences are there between what is covered under the Biosecurity Act 2015 (Cth) and the Quarantine Act 1908 (Cth)? (d) Are there any differences that apply based on the policies related to diseases covered under either?	Written	(16 April 2020)(PDF101KB)
QBE03QW	Leigh	For home and contents claims relating to the 2019-20 bushfire disasters, please provide: (a) the average length of time between registering a claim and payout; (b) the most common length of time between registering a claim and payout; and (c) the average percentage, across these bushfire claim pay outs, of the value of these bushfire related pay outs as a percentage of the insured value of the policy.	Written	(26 August 2020)(PDF171KB)
QBE04QW	Leigh	For home and contents claims in general over the last 5 years, please provide: (a) the average length of time between registering a claim and payout; (b) the most common length of time between registering a claim and payout; and (c) the average percentage, across all claim pay outs, of the value of these pay outs as a percentage of the insured value of the policy.	Written	(26 August 2020)(PDF170KB)

ReturnToWorkSA

No.	Member	Question	Hansard page and Hearing date or Written Questions	Response (Publication date)
RSA01QW	Leigh	a. For rejected or denied insurance claims across all your products, what are the average and median times, from the initiation of a claim to the decision on it? b. For approved insurance claims across all your products, what are the average and median times, from the initiation of a claim to the decision on it? c. For each of the last three reporting years, please complete the table below for each of the following products (if provided): Workplace Insurance / Accident Insurance / Income protection insurance.	Written	(28 September 2020) (PDF472KB)

Suncorp

No.	Member	Question	Hansard page and Hearing date or Written Questions	Response (Publication date)
SCI01QW	Wilson	Can you please provide information about inclusion in insurance products in the following circumstances prior to a policy holder’s departure: (a) The impact on accessing health insurance (i.e. costs for testing and hospital stays) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that already has a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19. (b) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs incurred for self-quarantine) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that already has a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19. (c) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs for rescheduling flights) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that already has a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19. (d) The impact on accessing health insurance (i.e. costs for testing and hospital stays) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, but has subsequently done so. (e) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs incurred for self-quarantine) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, but has subsequently done so. (f) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs for rescheduling flights) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, but has subsequently done so. (g) The impact on accessing health insurance (i.e. costs for testing and hospital stays) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, and may do so in the future. (h) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs incurred for self-quarantine) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, and may do so in the future. (i) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs for rescheduling flights) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, and may do so in the future.	Written	(17 April 2020)(PDF163KB)
SCI02QW	Wilson	Can you please provide information about inclusion in insurance products in the following circumstances following a policy holder’s departure: (a) The impact on accessing health insurance (i.e. costs for testing and hospital stays) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that already has a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19. (b) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs incurred for self-quarantine) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that already has a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19. (c) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs for rescheduling flights) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that already has a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19. (d) The impact on accessing health insurance (i.e. costs for testing and hospital stays) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, but has subsequently done so. (e) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs incurred for self-quarantine) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, but has subsequently done so. (f) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs for rescheduling flights) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, but has subsequently done so. (g) The impact on accessing health insurance (i.e. costs for testing and hospital stays) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, and may do so in the future. (h) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs incurred for self-quarantine) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, and may do so in the future. (i) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs for rescheduling flights) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, and may do so in the future.	Written	(17 April 2020)(PDF132KB)
SCI03QW	Wilson	To what extent do your insurance policies for small business cover notifiable diseases under: (a) The Biosecurity Act 2015 (Cth)? And if not, why not? (b) The Quarantine Act 1908 (Cth)? And if not, why not? (c) What differences are there between what is covered under the Biosecurity Act 2015 (Cth) and the Quarantine Act 1908 (Cth)? (d) Are there any differences that apply based on the policies related to diseases covered under either?	Written	(17 April 2020)(PDF99KB)
SCI04QW	Wilson	To what extent do your insurance policies for small business not cover notifiable diseases under: (a) The Biosecurity Act 2015 (Cth)? And if not, why not? (b) The Quarantine Act 1908 (Cth)? And if not, why not? (c) What differences are there between what is covered under the Biosecurity Act 2015 (Cth) and the Quarantine Act 1908 (Cth)? (d) Are there any differences that apply based on the policies related to diseases covered under either?	Written	(17 April 2020)(PDF95KB)
SCI10QON	Leigh	CHAIR: If I may, I think you said you're investing about $50 million for—what did you call it?—a comprehensive online experience for digital lodgement. What's the projected saving from going through this method, rather than through traditional methods? Mr Smeaton: For clarity, it's not just $50 million in claims lodgement and tracking; it's $50 million across the entire claims value proposition. There's the digital experience and then there's how we manage the supply chain, how we set ourselves up for an event response and how we operationally improve our performance. So it's not just specifically on digital; it's an entire program of work across all the claims. That's the clarity. In terms of the efficiency, I don't have to hand the exact benefits that are driven out of digital lodgement and tracking, but they will be taken into account in terms of the cost of running the organisation and how that then flows into the pricing of policies. CHAIR: Right. But, as I said, what is the expecting saving as a consequence of that investment of $50 million across the whole of the business? Mr Smeaton: I don't have the specifics. I'll take that on notice and come back to you.	Hansard p. 36 25 June 2021	(3 August 2021) (PDF101KB)
SCI11QON	Leigh	Dr LEIGH: But presumably you're able to answer questions about Suncorp health insurance, even though it's issued through nib? Mrs Harrison: I can answer quite a number of questions. There may be a few that I might have to take on notice. Dr LEIGH: What health insurance coverage do women have to purchase, if they're a Suncorp health insurance customer, to get cover for pregnancy and childbirth? Mrs Harrison: There is some form of cover, but I would prefer if I could take that on notice. Sorry; I'm just not exactly sure I'll give you the correct answer in this setting. Dr LEIGH: Can I ask you also to take on notice two further questions: firstly, what cover men have to purchase for conditions related to male reproductive health, such as prostate issues, and, secondly, whether you would undertake to change pricing if the Human Rights Commission finds that it is discriminatory. Mrs Harrison: Yes, I'm happy to take that on notice. Dr LEIGH: Would you like to answer that second question now? Mrs Harrison: I'll take both on notice, if that's okay.	Hansard p. 39 25 June 2021	(3 August 2021) (PDF108KB)
SCI12QON	Leigh	Dr LEIGH: So it might be that the Human Rights Commission decided that the price difference was discriminatory and you decided to just keep on pricing it the way it is? Mrs Harrison: On both of those, I don't profess to be an expert on the pricing mechanism for health insurance, so I will defer and come back to the committee. Dr LEIGH: Would it trouble you if the Human Rights Commission determined that the pricing was discriminatory on the basis of sex? Mrs Harrison: In terms of that, we take our obligations very seriously, and we certainly do listen to the Human Rights Commission for all of our products and services, so I'm certainly happy to look into those particular examples that you've raised.	Hansard p. 39 25 June 2021	(3 August 2021) (PDF72KB)

TAL

No.	Member	Question	Hansard page and Hearing date or Written Questions	Response (Publication date)
TAL01QON	Leigh	Dr LEIGH: Can you tell us now or on notice what percentage of your customers receive back in payouts more than they put in in premiums? Mr Clark: I can take that question on notice and provide that information back to the committee.	Hansard p. 56 28 April 2020	(9 June 2020)(PDF89KB)
TAL02QON	Kelly	Mr CRAIG KELLY: What percentage of payouts, under your life insurance, would be for self-harm or suicide? Ms Oliver: I'm sorry, I don't have those stats on me at the moment. I can provide those on notice. Mr CRAIG KELLY: Yes, you can do that on notice. Do you have that broken down into age groups, sex groups and whether they are in the country or the city? How far down can you break that number? Ms Oliver: I'm confident we can provide you with a good demographic understanding of the suicide claims that we receive here, yes. Mr CRAIG KELLY: Okay. On the other causes of death under your policies: do you have data on those as well that you could perhaps supply on notice? Ms Oliver: Yes, absolutely.	Hansard p. 56 28 April 2020	(9 June 2020) (PDF128KB)
TAL03QON	Mulino	Dr MULINO: To the extent that people aren't renewing, do you have a sense of the demographics of that cohort? Mr Clark: I would have that information. I don't have that immediately at hand, but we look at our customers who are buying and retaining cover in great detail, and we'd be happy to provide that information to you. Dr MULINO: Thanks. It would also be much appreciated if you could provide an update on that front, say, in a couple of months, because obviously it's a very fluid situation. Mr Clark: We'd be happy to do that.	Hansard p. 57 28 April 2020	(9 June 2020) (PDF114KB) (28 September 2020) Attachment (PDF134KB)
TAL04QON	Leigh	Mr Clark: We're very aware of and sensitive to this issue in particular. It's important to understand, for the committee's benefit, that generally these ADL definitions will only apply after someone has ceased working for a six- or 12-month period. In that intervening time, they will continue to retain their existing definition before it moves to an ADL definition. But we're very aware of and sensitive to this issue and working through it. Dr LEIGH: I don't think anyone imagines the economy is going to bounce back in six to 12 months, so this could become a major issue. You're clearly not willing to give an undertaking to the committee to not increase your reliance on the ADL test. Perhaps then you could take on notice to provide us with some statement about how you intend to deal with the issues raised by ASIC going forward and to ensure that customers aren't arriving in a jobless environment by your reliance on that test. Mr Clark: Yes. I would be very happy to keep the committee updated on this matter.	Hansard p. 59 28 April 2020	(9 June 2020) (PDF118KB)
TAL05QW	Leigh	(a) Do you have any life insurance coverage exclusions or increased premiums in relation to mental health conditions? (i) If so, what data have you used to determine the linkages between specific mental health conditions and related insurance claims? (b) Do your life insurance policies have exemptions relating to suicide? (i) Are there any special considerations with regard to how these exemptions are applied (e.g. the length of time a person has been insured)? (ii) How did you determine these considerations? (c) Do you have any special claims handling processes in place in relation to suicide? (i) In the event that a claim is denied, do you offer any support to the listed beneficiary? (d) There have been some suggestions, including recently by the Productivity Commission’s draft report into mental health, that the insurance industry’s voluntary code of conduct may not be sufficient and that insurance practices in relation to mental health and suicide continue to vary widely. Can you illustrate how practices are continuing to improve in light of the current code?	Written	(9 June 2020) (PDF167KB)
TAL06QON	Mulino	Dr MULINO: Thanks to you both for coming to give evidence. How much remediation have you paid to date and how much potential remediation remains in process? … Dr MULINO: Thanks. Mr Clark? Mr Clark: I don't have those figures at hand with me today, but I'd be very happy to take that question on notice and provide those figures back to the committee, if that's satisfactory. Dr MULINO: Sure, although I would have thought you would have had that to hand, given that this hearing's about the royal commission. Mr Clark: I would just add that, in terms of the royal commission remediations in particular, TAL had no exposure to the fees-for-no-service issues or those sorts of things. The matters that were examined in respect of TAL were in respect of those claims, and we've dealt with those claims specifically with those customers.	Hansard p. 23 25 June 2021	(3 August 2021) (PDF374KB)
TAL07QON	Mulino	Dr MULINO: Okay. How many cases do each of you have in AFCA at the minute? I think, Mr Swanson, you said there were none relating to that remediation, but what about more generally? … Dr MULINO: Mr Clark? Mr Clark: I don't have those figures at hand with me today, but I'd be very happy to provide them on notice to the committee.	Hansard p. 23 25 June 2021	(3 August 2021) (PDF547KB)
TAL08QON	Wilson	CHAIR: Taking off my hat as chair of the economics committee, I'm also Chair of the Parliamentary Friends for Action on HIV/AIDS, Blood Borne Viruses and Sexually Transmitted Infections, and it was brought to my attention recently that HIV-positive Australians aren't eligible for life insurance, even though all the treatment options would now make it completely unjustifiable to deny it. I'm just wondering whether that is the case or not for a life insurance product. Mr Clark: I would have to check that. There has been a lot of evolution of underwriting processes in relation to a whole host of medical conditions in recent years. As the medical profession gets better at dealing with medical issues and as the insurance industry assesses those treatment options, underwriting approaches change all the time. I'd have to check exactly, more broadly, where we are around HIV conditions. CHAIR: That would be good. The average life expectancy of somebody who is HIV-positive is now exactly the same, basically, as that of any other member of the community, thanks to the wonders of modern medicine and treatment options. But my understanding is that some products are still denied to people. You make a point about underwriting, but it sounds to me like that may not be reflecting contemporary practice. I would appreciate if you'd look at that. Mr Swanson? Mr Swanson: Yes, I'd have to check that too, but I would say that, in a number of instances, I'm aware of people who have been able to get what are called limited-duration covers. Instead of having it to the age of 65, as an example, it's for the next 15 years. But I'd need to come back to you with specific details. CHAIR: So both of you will effectively take that on notice.	Hansard p. 26 25 June 2021	(3 August 2021) (PDF576KB)

Westpac/ BT

No.

Member

Question

Hansard page
and Hearing date
or Written Questions

Response
(Publication date)

WBT01QW

Leigh

(a) Do you have any life insurance coverage exclusions or increased premiums in relation to mental health conditions?

(i) If so, what data have you used to determine the linkages between specific mental health conditions and related insurance claims?

(b) Do your life insurance policies have exemptions relating to suicide?

(i) Are there any special considerations with regard to how these exemptions are applied (e.g. the length of time a person has been insured)?

(ii) How did you determine these considerations?

(i) In the event that a claim is denied, do you offer any support to the listed beneficiary?

Written

(12 June2020)(PDF107KB)

WorkSafe Victoria

No.	Member	Question	Hansard page and Hearing date or Written Questions	Response (Publication date)
WSV01QW	Leigh	a. For rejected or denied insurance claims across all your products, what are the average and median times, from the initiation of a claim to the decision on it? b. For approved insurance claims across all your products, what are the average and median times, from the initiation of a claim to the decision on it? c. For each of the last three reporting years, please complete the table below for each of the following products (if provided): Workplace Insurance / Accident Insurance / Income protection insurance.	Written	(28 September 2020) (PDF352KB)

Youi

No.	Member	Question	Hansard page and Hearing date or Written Questions	Response (Publication date)
YUI01QW	Wilson	To what extent do your insurance policies for small business cover notifiable diseases under: (a) The Biosecurity Act 2015 (Cth)? And if not, why not? (b) The Quarantine Act 1908 (Cth)? And if not, why not? (c) What differences are there between what is covered under the Biosecurity Act 2015 (Cth) and the Quarantine Act 1908 (Cth)? (d) Are there any differences that apply based on the policies related to diseases covered under either?	Written	(16 April 2020)(PDF180KB)
YUI02QW	Wilson	To what extent do your insurance policies for small business not cover notifiable diseases under: (a) The Biosecurity Act 2015 (Cth)? And if not, why not? (b) The Quarantine Act 1908 (Cth)? And if not, why not? (c) What differences are there between what is covered under the Biosecurity Act 2015 (Cth) and the Quarantine Act 1908 (Cth)? (d) Are there any differences that apply based on the policies related to diseases covered under either?	Written	(16 April 2020)(PDF172KB)
YUI03QW	Wilson	Dr LEIGH: Now I've got to say I'm a little less impressed than I was when I first heard about your policy. What share of your customers are getting that 15 per cent discount? Mr Storey: I don't have the actual numbers to hand for that, sorry. Dr LEIGH: That's alright; I'll take ballpark. Mr Storey: I could take it on notice. Dr LEIGH: No, no; I'll take ballpark. Are we talking 10 per cent, 20 per cent, 90 per cent? Mr Bakker: For new customers, 80 per cent of those customers are opting in to receive it for driving less than under normal circumstances, and for our existing customers, everyone that we've contacted thus far, the opt-in rate is sitting at around 30 per cent of customers who are telling us that they're using their car less. Dr LEIGH: They're two interesting numbers, but I'm not sure that either of them is actually the number I asked for. Of your entire customer base, what share is getting a discount? Mr Bakker: I might take that question on notice, specifically because we're still in the process of informing the customers, reaching out to them daily via emails to inform them.	Hansard p. 4 29 April 2020	(26 May 2020) (PDF106KB)
YUI04QW	Leigh	For home and contents claims relating to the 2019-20 bushfire disasters, please provide: (a) the average length of time between registering a claim and payout; (b) the most common length of time between registering a claim and payout; and (c) the average percentage, across these bushfire claim pay outs, of the value of these bushfire related pay outs as a percentage of the insured value of the policy.	Written	(30 July 2020) (PDF48KB)
YUI05QW	Leigh	For home and contents claims in general over the last 5 years, please provide: (a) the average length of time between registering a claim and payout; (b) the most common length of time between registering a claim and payout; and (c) the average percentage, across all claim pay outs, of the value of these pay outs as a percentage of the insured value of the policy.	Written	(30 July 2020) (PDF51KB)

Zurich

No.	Member	Question	Hansard page and Hearing date or Written Questions	Response (Publication date)
ZUR01QW	Wilson	Can you please provide information about inclusion in insurance products in the following circumstances prior to a policy holder’s departure: (a) The impact on accessing health insurance (i.e. costs for testing and hospital stays) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that already has a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19. (b) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs incurred for self-quarantine) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that already has a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19. (c) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs for rescheduling flights) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that already has a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19. (d) The impact on accessing health insurance (i.e. costs for testing and hospital stays) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, but has subsequently done so. (e) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs incurred for self-quarantine) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, but has subsequently done so. (f) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs for rescheduling flights) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, but has subsequently done so. (g) The impact on accessing health insurance (i.e. costs for testing and hospital stays) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, and may do so in the future. (h) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs incurred for self-quarantine) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, and may do so in the future. (i) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs for rescheduling flights) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, and may do so in the future.	Written	(3 April 2020)(PDF225KB)
ZUR02QW	Wilson	Can you please provide information about inclusion in insurance products in the following circumstances following a policy holder’s departure: (a) The impact on accessing health insurance (i.e. costs for testing and hospital stays) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that already has a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19. (b) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs incurred for self-quarantine) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that already has a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19. (c) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs for rescheduling flights) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that already has a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19. (d) The impact on accessing health insurance (i.e. costs for testing and hospital stays) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, but has subsequently done so. (e) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs incurred for self-quarantine) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, but has subsequently done so. (f) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs for rescheduling flights) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, but has subsequently done so. (g) The impact on accessing health insurance (i.e. costs for testing and hospital stays) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, and may do so in the future. (h) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs incurred for self-quarantine) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, and may do so in the future. (i) The impact on accessing travel insurance (i.e. costs for rescheduling flights) for a policy holder that books international travel to a destination that did not have a Smart Traveller advisory issued against it due to the outbreak of COVID-19 at the time of booking, and may do so in the future.	Written	(3 April 2020)(PDF221KB)
ZUR03QW	Wilson	To what extent do your insurance policies for small business cover notifiable diseases under: (a) The Biosecurity Act 2015 (Cth)? And if not, why not? (b) The Quarantine Act 1908 (Cth)? And if not, why not? (c) What differences are there between what is covered under the Biosecurity Act 2015 (Cth) and the Quarantine Act 1908 (Cth)? (d) Are there any differences that apply based on the policies related to diseases covered under either?	Written	(16 April 2020)(PDF232KB)
ZUR04QW	Wilson	To what extent do your insurance policies for small business not cover notifiable diseases under: (a) The Biosecurity Act 2015 (Cth)? And if not, why not? (b) The Quarantine Act 1908 (Cth)? And if not, why not? (c) What differences are there between what is covered under the Biosecurity Act 2015 (Cth) and the Quarantine Act 1908 (Cth)? (d) Are there any differences that apply based on the policies related to diseases covered under either?	Written	(16 April 2020)(PDF228KB)
ZUR05QW	Leigh	(a) Do you have any life insurance coverage exclusions or increased premiums in relation to mental health conditions? (i) If so, what data have you used to determine the linkages between specific mental health conditions and related insurance claims? (b) Do your life insurance policies have exemptions relating to suicide? (i) Are there any special considerations with regard to how these exemptions are applied (e.g. the length of time a person has been insured)? (ii) How did you determine these considerations? (c) Do you have any special claims handling processes in place in relation to suicide? (i) In the event that a claim is denied, do you offer any support to the listed beneficiary? (d) There have been some suggestions, including recently by the Productivity Commission’s draft report into mental health, that the insurance industry’s voluntary code of conduct may not be sufficient and that insurance practices in relation to mental health and suicide continue to vary widely. Can you illustrate how practices are continuing to improve in light of the current code?	Written	(9 June 2020) (PDF228KB)
ZUR06QW	Leigh	a. For rejected or denied insurance claims across all your products (including Zurich Financial Services), what are the average and median times, from the initiation of a claim to the decision on it? b. For approved insurance claims across all your products (including Zurich Financial Services), what are the average and median times, from the initiation of a claim to the decision on it? c. For each of the last three reporting years, please complete the table below for each of the following products (if provided): Workplace Insurance / Accident Insurance / Income protection insurance.	Written	(15 October 2020) (PDF238KB)

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