{"id":70552,"date":"2024-03-22T08:17:41","date_gmt":"2024-03-21T22:17:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/?p=70552"},"modified":"2024-04-02T10:35:24","modified_gmt":"2024-04-02T00:35:24","slug":"apra-challenges-sector-to-increase-transparency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/2024\/03\/22\/apra-challenges-sector-to-increase-transparency\/","title":{"rendered":"APRA Challenges Sector to Increase Transparency"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Insurers are being challenged to increase their transparency, with APRA\u2019s Executive Director of Insurance <strong>Sean Carmody<\/strong> saying a more transparent industry is a more trusted industry and that transparency will help build a more resilient community.<\/p>\n<p>In a recent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.apra.gov.au\/news-and-publications\/apra-executive-director-of-insurance-%E2%80%93-speech-to-future-of-insurance-2024\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">speech<\/a>, where he shared some perspectives on the current state of the industry and the actions that can help underwrite a strong future, Carmody told the industry APRA and ASIC\u00a0 believe that transparency is \u201c\u2026critical to improving a range of consumer outcomes.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_70555\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-70555\" style=\"width: 150px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/files\/2024\/03\/Sean-Carmody-welcome-Insight-e1711057209112.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-70555\" src=\"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/files\/2024\/03\/Sean-Carmody-welcome-Insight-e1711057209112.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"180\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-70555\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sean Carmody<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>As to what the regulators mean by transparency in insurance, Carmody says it includes being clear on:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>What is, and is not, covered by a policy<\/li>\n<li>The factors that drive consumers\u2019 premiums<\/li>\n<li>Which mitigation actions by consumers will, or will not, reduce premiums<\/li>\n<li>How insurers will use information provided, such as the results of genetic tests<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Carmody says a\u00a0 lack of transparency erodes trust \u201c\u2026which undermines the effectiveness of communication. Over time, an investment in greater transparency can help to build trust.&#8221;<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8230;product innovation also has the potential to help address the protection gap&#8230;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>He notes too that product innovation &#8220;&#8230;also has the potential to help address the protection gap and is another area that could benefit greatly from transparency.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>To design sustainable products that work for both insurers and their customers today, and in the years ahead, he challenges the industry to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Design products and services that are of demonstrable value to the community<\/li>\n<li>Ensure these products reach the most suitable target market: be clear who the product is designed for<\/li>\n<li>Simplify your products and processes and review them regularly to adjust to changing consumer needs<\/li>\n<li>Use plain English product disclosures and don\u2019t hide the devil in the detail<\/li>\n<li>Be fair and clear in your pricing, ensuring it aligns with good product features<\/li>\n<li>Ensure you have a clear, open, empathetic, fair and speedy claims process.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>He concludes that the industry is on the right track with the basics of good insurance risk management.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is fundamental to ensuring it has the financial capacity to fulfill its purpose: supporting their current and future customers in times of need, when their house flooded, their car crashed, or their health deteriorated.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8230;communities today are facing real challenges regarding affordability and accessibility that need to be addressed&#8230;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>\u201cHowever, communities today are facing real challenges regarding affordability and accessibility that need to be addressed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Carmody says APRA recognises that \u201c\u2026closing the protection gaps in insurance is an example of a &#8216;wicked problem&#8217; that poses complex issues and will require sustained action by industry, all levels of government and the community.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He notes that APRA highlights the issues facing the insurance industry and is supporting the collective work on solutions.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI encourage all insurers to take ownership of these challenges and to find opportunities to make a difference. Harness the talent and innovative power we have in the industry to help shape the future,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.apra.gov.au\/news-and-publications\/apra-executive-director-of-insurance-%E2%80%93-speech-to-future-of-insurance-2024\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Click here<\/a> to read Carmody&#8217;s full address.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Insurers are being challenged to increase their transparency, with APRA\u2019s Executive Director of Insurance Sean Carmody saying a more transparent industry is a more trusted industry and that transparency will help build a more resilient community. In a recent speech, where he shared some perspectives on the current state of the industry and the actions [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":70558,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,241,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-70552","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-compliance-regulation","category-conferences-and-events","category-general"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70552","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\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70552"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70552\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/70558"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70552"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70552"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70552"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}