Life insurance overdue for change
Consumer Action Law Centre says that proposed changes from the life insurance industry (welcomed by Assistant Treasurer Josh Frydenberg) to overhaul excessive commission structures and questionable ad...
Insurance companies: Prove your loyalty to us. Be upfront on price rises.
Australians want their insurance companies to be upfront with yearly price rises according to a survey commissioned by Consumer Action. If you own general insurance (for example, insurance for your...
Junk Insurance and Rubbish Warranties: Help stop others going through the same.
Earlier this year we shared about the risks of junk insurance and rubbish warranties. Now we need your help. We would like to hear from you if you’ve recently been sold: a motor vehicle warran...
Junk Insurance and Rubbish Warranties
You might have bought something useless and don’t even know it. If you’ve purchased a used car or taken out a credit card or loan, you may have paid for some junk insurance or a rubbish warranty that...
Media Release: Trowbridge final report a step in the right direction, but fixation with commissions remains
Consumer Action Law Centre, Financial Rights Legal Centre, CHOICE and Maurice Blackburn Lawyers have welcomed John Trowbridge's final report into retail life insurance but believe that the industry ha...
Media release: Consumer advocates welcome Allianz’s $400,016 refund but warn mis-selling of insurance is an ongoing problem
Consumer Action Law Centre has welcomed news that Allianz Australia Insurance will refund $400,016 to Australians who were sold its Consumer Credit Insurance (CCI) alongside payday loans. Consumer Ac...
Submission: Interim report on Retail Life Insurance Advice
Consumer Action, Financial Rights Legal Centre, Choice and Maurice Blackburn Lawyers have provided comment on the Interim report on Retail Life Insurance Advice. In brief, the submission argues:...
Media release: Life insurance report lacks imagination in failing to look beyond commission based sales
The life insurance industry’s initial response to a damning report which revealed 37 per cent of all life insurance advice provided by Australia’s financial services licensees failed to comply with th...
Submission: Financial System Inquiry Interim Report
Consumer Action welcomed the panel's interim report, particularly that fairness, as much as stability and efficiency, are important objectives for the financial system. We strongly support the panel's...
Media Release: Making home insurance fair and simple – Consumer Action welcomes new report findings
A new report by the Office of the Fire Services Levy Monitor has lifted the veil on Australia’s home insurance industry, exposing high profits, poor product and price disclosure, and a severe lack of...
Submission: Insurance Duty of Disclosure
Consumer Action has provided comments on the Commonwealth Treasury's proposed notices which explain the duty of disclosure consumers have when buying insurance. We broadly support these regulations, b...
Submission: Financial Systems Inquiry Terms of Reference
Consumer Action welcomes the opportunity to contribute to the Financial Systems Inquiry. The submission below responds to the Inquiry's terms of reference released on 20 December 2013. The submission...
Media release: The numbers show Consumer Credit Insurance is a poor deal for consumers
New figures from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority show Australians spent $330 million on Consumer Credit Insurance in the twelve months to June this year, yet only 23 cents in every doll...
Media release: Time to end the funeral insurance rip-off say consumer advocates
A coalition of eleven consumer and older Australian advocates has released a thirteen point strategy to end the funeral insurance rip-off. The strategy was created after the advocates identified a num...
Time to end the funeral insurance rip-off: a Consumer Strategy for a fairer deal
Consumers are increasingly keen to plan financially for all significant life events, including the first thing that happens when they die—their funeral. This means there is now a market for funeral pl...
Media release: Now’s our chance to extend unfair contract term laws to insurance
Consumer Action Law Centre and Insurance Law Service have welcomed the introduction of a bill into Federal Parliament that, if passed, will mean that unfair contract term laws will be extended to gene...
Submission: Exposure Draft Insurance Contracts Amendment (Unfair Terms) Bill 2013
Consumer Action, the Insurance Law Service and Legal Aid New South Wales are broadly very supportive of the Exposure Draft Insurance Contracts Amendment (Unfair Terms) Bill 2013. Unfair contract term...
Total replacement insurance for home buildings
Earlier this year our former CEO, Catriona Lowe, appeared on ABC TV's The Checkout suggesting that consumers look for total replacement cover when shopping around for insurance. Since then we've had a...
Media Release: Consumer group welcomes extension of unfair terms protections to insurance contracts
Consumer Action Law Centre has welcomed the announcement from Assistant Treasurer David Bradbury that unfair contract term laws will be extended to general insurance contracts. Protections against unf...
Accessing free insurance advice
The Financial Rights Legal Centre provides a range of self help kits on insurance matters. The Australian Financial Complaints Authority also offers insurance fact sheets on: Life Insuranc...
Funeral plans: what are you paying for?
We understand that, for many Australians, funeral plans offer a level of certainty and peace of mind, both emotionally and financially. But Australians thinking about taking out a funeral plan should...
Submission: Key facts sheets for home building and home contents insurance policies
Consumer Action welcomes the opportunity to comment on the draft Key Facts Sheets for home building and home contents insurance policies. Consumer Action continues to strongly support the introductio...
Submission: Submission to the Victorian Government’s consultation on the domestic building consumer protection framework
Broadly, this submission: argues that the nature of domestic building transactions mean that specialised and strengthened consumer protections are required; recommends that the entire consumer prot...
Media release: ‘Payment protection plan’ sold by The Cash Store offers borrower little protection
Consumer Action Law Centre and the Consumer Credit Legal Centre NSW have questioned whether it was appropriate for payday loan broker The Cash Store to sell a ‘payment protection plan’—a loan insuranc...
Submission: Barriers to effective climate change adaptation – the role of insurance
In this submission to the Productivity Commission's draft report on Barriers to Effective Climate Change Adaptation Consumer Action argues against the Commission's assessment that subsidising flood in...
Media release: Hire car insurance is not what it seems, in fact, it’s often not insurance at all
As many Victorians head off on holidays, the Consumer Action Law Centre is warning consumers that hire car 'insurance' is not what seems. Indeed, it’s often not insurance at all but, rather, an indemn...
Media release: Stronger response needed to ensure consumers are protected in times of disaster
The Consumer Action Law Centre has expressed disappointment with the Government’s initial response to the National Disaster Insurance Review (NDIR) Panel's report which it labelled as 'indecisive'. Wh...
Media release: Report into consumer credit insurance exposes dirty tactics
The Consumer Action Law Centre has responded to ASIC’s report into consumer credit insurance (CCI), by saying that it confirms two of its long held suspicions; that many lenders selling CCI are using...
Joint submission: Reforming flood insurance – clearing the waters discussion paper
The following is a joint consumer submission in response to the Clearing the Waters discussion paper released by the Australian Government on 5 April 2011. The Brotherhood of St Laurence, Choice, Cons...
Joint submission: Reforming Flood Insurance – Clearing the Waters discussion paper
Consumer Action has contributed to a joint consumer submission in response to the Clearing the Waters discussion paper (the discussion paper) released by the Australian Government on 5 April 2011. The...
Submission: Unfair terms in insurance contracts – options paper
Consumer Action thanks the Government for seeking stakeholder input on addressing unfair terms in insurance contracts, facilitated by the publication of the Unfair terms in insurance contracts - Optio...
Submission: Response to the 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission’s Fire Services Levy and Insurance Discussion Paper
We welcome the opportunity to provide comment to the 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission in response to its Discussion Paper on the fire services levy and insurance. This submission is made joi...
Submission: Inquiry into Australia’s Mandatory Last Resort Home Warranty Insurance Schemes
Consumer Action welcomes the Senate Economics Committee Inquiry into Australia’s Mandatory Last Resort Home Building Warranty Insurance (HBWI) schemes. We have long been concerned that the mandatory H...