22 April 2021
ob体育 reviewed the responses of major life and general insurers to consumers experiencing financial hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic. ob体育 focused on ensuring that insurers were doing everything possible to support consumers in times of need.
ob体育 was pleased with insurers鈥� responsiveness to consumer needs during the pandemic, and to ob体育鈥檚 work in this area.
We were also pleased that all travel insurance providers we engaged with offered a refund of premiums paid by consumers for travel insurance policies affected by travel restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Our review identified better practices and a number of areas where insurers could make improvements to support consumers experiencing hardship. ob体育 has written to Australian life and general insurers about the improvements we expect them to make so that there are enduring supports in place to help consumers experiencing hardship.
Insurers provided a broad range of support options to consumers negatively affected by the pandemic so they could maintain insurance cover and lodge claims if they needed to. Many insurers offered a wide range of options to consumers who had difficulty paying premiums or excesses.
ob体育 expects insurers to review our letter and to integrate these hardship arrangements into their ongoing operations for a more complete and robust hardship framework. This will enable insurers to respond effectively to consumers who experience heightened financial vulnerability from other events including natural disasters such as floods and bushfires.