The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) plan to review travel insurance policies across the board later this year.
This comes off the back of industry-wide concerns over the persistent cause of travel insurance disputes – the third most complained about type of domestic insurance last financial year.
Of especial concern to ASIC and The Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) is the persistent exclusion of claims for medical conditions, which, The Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) reports, can allow insurers to knock back claims due to pre-existing medical conditions.
Gervase Green, national manager, media, ASIC, told Travel Weekly that the organisation are currently scoping a review for later in the year.
“In other words, that is still very early days,” he said. “Which is why we can’t say what might be involved or looked at, at this stage.”
ASICs executive director for financial services, Michael Saadat, told SMH the regulator is planning further scrutiny of operators in the travel insurance sector.
Saadat told SMH the wording in travel insurance policies often made it difficult to make a claim.
Investigations into travel insurer misconduct come after egregious claims of misconduct by insurers were brought to light by the Hayne royal commission: among them, as Travel Weekly reported late last year, Allianz insurance who were found to be misleading customers as far back as 2012.
