CALI, the peak industry body representing Australia’s life insurance companies, has welcomed the Federal Government’s new Statements of Expectations for APRA and ASIC saying they strike an appropriate balance between consumer protection and economic growth.
The new statements reaffirm that APRA’s primary role is to maintain the safety and stability of Australia’s financial system, while also encouraging both regulators to support productivity, competition and innovation, and to avoid unnecessary regulatory burden.
Better regulation doesn’t mean more regulation…
CALI CEO Christine Cupitt said strong regulation was essential to maintaining public confidence in life insurance but warned that better regulation did not necessarily mean more regulation.
“Better regulation doesn’t mean more regulation. It means making pragmatic choices that support customer protections, while simplifying or removing rules that are outdated or duplicated,” she said.
Cupitt said a regulatory environment that encouraged innovation and competition would provide Australians with greater choice and help keep life insurance affordable and accessible.
She said those settings were particularly important as life insurers sought to develop affordable and sustainable products in response to rising levels of mental ill-health.
