{"id":47545,"date":"2019-12-16T13:19:29","date_gmt":"2019-12-16T02:19:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/?p=47545"},"modified":"2019-12-16T13:19:29","modified_gmt":"2019-12-16T02:19:29","slug":"superannuation-industry-must-focus-on-better-insurance-outcomes-for-members-asic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/2019\/12\/16\/superannuation-industry-must-focus-on-better-insurance-outcomes-for-members-asic\/","title":{"rendered":"Superannuation Industry Must Focus on Better Insurance Outcomes for Members &#8211; ASIC"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">ASIC has urged the superannuation industry to focus on improving consumer outcomes in relation to life insurance provided through superannuation, following the release of its report on progress in this area.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_46088\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-46088\" style=\"width: 150px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/files\/2019\/08\/Danielle-Press-e1566907768772.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-46088\" src=\"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/files\/2019\/08\/Danielle-Press-e1566907768772-250x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"180\" srcset=\"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/files\/2019\/08\/Danielle-Press-e1566907768772-250x300.jpg 250w, https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/files\/2019\/08\/Danielle-Press-e1566907768772.jpg 417w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-46088\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">ASIC Commissioner, Danielle Press<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Its report, <i>Insurance in superannuation: Industry implementation of the Voluntary Code of Practice<\/i>, comments on industry\u2019s implementation of the Insurance in Superannuation Voluntary Code of Practice (Code). <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">It also provides context about why a focus on insurance in superannuation, held by approximately 12 million Australians, is important. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">ASIC Commissioner, <strong>Danielle Press<\/strong>, says, \u201cWe recognise that there is significant change occurring in relation to insurance in superannuation. In this dynamic phase, it is important that superannuation trustees remain focused and committed to improving outcomes for members.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The Code sets standards of practice with the aim of improving: <\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Industry practices in benefit design<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Claims handling<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Communications to members<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The regulator stated 70 percent of superannuation trustees are adopting the Code in whole or part but full implementation is not due for completion until 30 June 2021.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The report notes that some improvements in practices are being introduced as a result of adoption of the Code by a significant number of trustees. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">However, it stated further work needs to be done to achieve the high industry standards consumers expect.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">\u201cWe identified a number of inconsistencies in implementation of the Code, some relating to fundamental aspects such as which members are covered by the Code, the controls around balance erosion, and calculation of timeframes for claims processes,\u201d Press said. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">\u201cAlso, trustees are continuing to leave vulnerable members behind \u2013 they need to have better defined policies and processes for those with unique needs.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">ASIC\u2019s report follows the release of a report in October 2019, <i>Holes in the safety net: a review of TPD insurance claims<\/i>, which focused on total and permanent disability insurance, much of which is held through superannuation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/download.asic.gov.au\/media\/5411791\/rep-646-published-13-december-2019.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Click here<\/a> to view the full report.  <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ASIC has urged the superannuation industry to focus on improving consumer outcomes in relation to life insurance provided through superannuation, following the release of its report on progress in this area.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,5622],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47545","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-compliance-regulation","category-superannuation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47545","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47545"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47545\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47545"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47545"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47545"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}