There has been a sharp increase in disputed claims lodgement ratios in individual advised retail life insurance products since June 2021, according to APRA’s latest Life Insurance Claims and Disputes Statistics report for the year to December 2023.
Reflecting a recent trend, the regulator also highlighted a sharp increase in disputed claim lodgement ratios in its June 2023 report (see: Sharp Increase in Life Insurance Disputes).
APRA also notes for the same period the dispute lodgement ratios for DII and funeral insurance “…have increased considerably over time, due to recent regulatory focus.”
In the year to December 2023, as seen in the table below, the claims dispute lodgement ratio was highest for DII cover for both individual advised and individual non-advised claims, with 339 disputes lodged for claims through individual advised channels and 413 in individual non-advised.
The regulator notes the dispute lodgement ratio is defined as the number of disputes lodged per 100,000 lives insured.
(APRA’s publication presents the key industry and entity-level claims and disputes outcomes for 17 Australian life insurers.)
