It is disappointing to me that at a time when insurance premiums are rising, and will no doubt rise further with the various natural catastrophes occurring around Australia, that the NSW government are seeking to increase the Emergency Services Levy on those that are prudent enough to Insure. The whole collection method is already a nightmare. Let me explain why. The NSW Government (Treasury) sets […]
Doing the right thing
Over the past 12 months, we have seen the Royal Commission looking at both Banking and the Insurance Industries and identifying behaviour which confirms societies view of the Finance sector in that insurance is a vital part. Of course, it is not just the insurance and finance sector which has been pulled into disrepute lately, with the hospital systems, particularly in Queensland, the construction industry […]
How could the NSW Government get it so wrong on the removal of the Emergency Services Levy (TAX)?
I read the article in insuranceNEWS in which it was reported that the NSW parliamentary Legal Affairs Committee, which held an inquiry to consider the impact of the abandoned reform, “found the NSW Government’s failed implementation of [the reform] was a poor public policy decision, undertaken without adequate understanding of the complexities of the issue or the impacts of the proposed reforms.” What beggars belief is that […]
New advice to ‘Just drive off’ following carjacking of a crash victim
Victorian drivers are required by law to stop and exchange details with the other party(ies) if they are involved in a motor vehicle accident. New advice has been issued from the Police following a recent event where a crash victim, a woman, had a gun pointed at her head in a horrific carjacking , their tactic hitting into her vehicle to lure her out. WA […]
Thanks InsuranceNEWs and all those that wrote
Just a quick post to thank Terry McMullan and the team from InsuranceNEWS for picking up on my blog post on Monday about the effect that the Australian Government’s decision to remove Insurance Loss Adjusting from the Skilled Migration Program will have on our industry. A number of people saw either the InsuranceNEWS article or my blog post and have written in expressing their concern. […]
Insurers forget “utmost good faith” at our peril
I get so frustrated when I see dishonesty in any part of the insurance claims process. I fully support all efforts to stamp out genuine claims leakage and dishonesty on the part of the Insured and or repairers who milk the system. But equally if an Insurer is acting with scant disregard to the principle of utmost good faith I am equally appalled. Before I […]
Guest Post – What does home insurance cover?
I often get requests from people and organisations seeking to make a guest post on my site. Unless it is meaningful and is not a straight product flog I will certainly share and embrace their articles. (You would be staggered how many requests I get from gambling sites). This guest post is from Alex at Lendi.com.au. What does home insurance cover? The Wye River […]
Different landlord – similar issue
This is another issue that I have posted warnings on several times over the past few months. It was reported recently that a Perth landlord was hit with a huge power bill after tenants ran a cannabis grow-house from his property. The power bill was a whopping $85,000. The report suggested crime gangs are most likely to target private landlords and will often provide a large upfront […]
A Changing of the Guard – Financial Ombudsmen Service (FOS) soon out and Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) coming soon (1 November 2018)
The Australian Financial Complaints Limited (AFCL) has received authorisation from the Minister for Revenue and Financial Services, the Hon. Kelly O’Dwyer, to establish and operate the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA). Both the Minister (media release) and AFCL have issued a media release, and announced the new members of the AFCA Board. In case you have not seen either, I would advise the following key points. Under […]
Changes to the New Zealand Residential Tenancies Act and to PolicyComparison in Australia on methamphetamines.
The Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill (No 2) has just passed the Select Committee stage of the New Zealand legislative process. The Bill will change the Residential Tenancies Act (1986) in ways that will affect general insurers in the following areas: clarifying the state of the law regarding tenants’ responsibility for careless damage to property, including insurers’ rights of recovery; requiring landlords to disclose information about their […]