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REGULATION by Abigail Murison
Codes for the road While New Zealand managed to get a new code of practice up and running by 1 April 2020, progress on similar codes in Australia has been hampered by COVID-19. Here’s an update on how these codes are evolving and when they should come into force.
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f the Hayne royal commission gave the insurance industry added impetus to update and improve its codes of conduct, COVID-19 applied the handbrake. The focus had to be on maintaining service levels, helping newly vulnerable customers and managing remote workers. Indeed, a June 2020 Roy Morgan report found that almost 60 per cent of workers in insurance and finance worked from home during the pandemic. Behind the scenes, though, insurance associations have been hard at work drafting new codes, conducting reviews and gathering feedback. As working life returns to near-normal in Australia and New Zealand, insurance professionals can expect to see the final versions roll out, and work can begin on developing the systems and processes required for best practice.
JOURNAL // ISSUE 01 2021 // ANZIIF.COM
