New super group to develop insurance leadership

The collective will be known as the Insurance in Superannuation Industry Working Group. It brings together industry bodies, the Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees (AIST), the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA), the Financial Services Council (FSC), the Industry Funds Forum (IFF) and Industry Super Australia (ISA).

Members will develop leadership on insurance as well as a code of practice/conduct for life insurance in super, the Industry Working Group said in a statement.

It said it intends for the code to be binding, enforceable and contain mechanisms for independent administration and monitoring to enhance consumer protections.

“The group will develop new standards for trustees and insurers that will set the benchmark for industry practice into the future,” it said.

“The standards will set out how the industry will operate to deliver valuable insurance that meets the needs of individuals and the community.”

The Industry Working Group intends to finalise the code before the end of next year, but improvements to industry practice will also be progressively delivered throughout 2017.

It also said it will build on the AIST’s Group Insurance Statement of Intent released on 7 October, outcomes from a roundtable of key stakeholders held in Canberra on 10 October and the FSC’s Life Insurance Code of Practice released on 11 October.