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‘Insurance catastrophe’ for businesses as coronavirus not covered

'Insurance catastrophe' for businesses as coronavirus not covered By Charlotte Grieve The Insurance Council of Australia has declared an "insurance catastrophe" as the industry braces for a spike in coronavirus-related claims while policies largely exclude quarantinable diseases. Business interruption insurance policies typically cover staff wages and rent or loan repayments during catastrophic events. In the past, this extended to infectious diseases but in 2004, the global insurance industry began to introduce exclusions for losses relating to quarantinable diseases, according to the ICA. ICA spokesman Campbell Fuller said while there was not a one-size-fits-all approach to insurance policies, and some individualised policies may include pandemic cover, most business insurance products exclude pandemics simply because the uncertainty of the risk is too high. "Insurers are always about calculating the risk, how do you calculate the impact of the pandemic?" …

ACT finish 2020 with a gain in new car sales

ACT was the only state or territory to finish 2020 with a gain in new car sales, thanks to a brief January supercell Peter Brewer Volkswagen cars, together with Mazda, Hyundai, Subaru and Honda, showed an upward shift in the ACT. Picture: Peter Brewer One extraordinary weather event almost 12 months ago handed Canberra's new car market such a huge retail boost that the ACT was the only state or territory to finish the 2020 calendar year with a positive result. New car retail data released on Wednesday for 2020 revealed Australia's national sales plunged to their lowest annual level of demand in 17 years, with the ACT being the only state or territory to post a gain over 2019. The ACT's new car retail sales for 2020 were 22.6 per cent up on 2019, against a national sales decline of 13.7 per cent. Canberra's sales boost was largely a result of last year's intense January 20 hailstorm which swept in from th…

Health insurance changes leave many surprised with lack of cover

Health insurance changes leave many surprised with lack of cover By business reporter David Taylor Paramedic Natalie Glaser did not realise her fund had downgraded her health insurance cover.(Supplied: Natalie Glaser) Share

As a paramedic, Natalie Glaser has a highly stressful job, with long hours and shift work.

Key points: Natalie Glaser was put onto a basic cover that excluded about 72 per cent of procedures she was once covered for Like millions of health fund members, Ms Glaser's cover was changed as part of a new system to help customers get better value She received an email advising of the changes, but ignored it believing it was just marketing material from her fund

She went to her GP, complaining of an upset stomach.

"I was really scared as well, and I still am scared," she told PM.

But when …

ACCC finds northern Australian insurance costs soaring, recommends industry regulation

ACCC finds northern Australian insurance costs soaring, recommends industry regulation By Jane Bardon Sue Shearer says the cost of insuring her Darwin home has steadily risen for years.(ABC News: Jane Bardon) Like many northern Australians, Sue Shearer has watched the cost of her home and contents insurance soar with dismay. Key points: An ACCC inquiry has found more and more people in northern Australia are going without insurance The watchdog says average home insurance premiums in the region rose by 178 per cent over a decade Its report has recommended a series of regulations to make the industry more consumer friendly

"It just keeps going up and up. It's exorbitant actually," she said.

Yearly building insurance price hikes have pushed up her body corporate fees, in a unit complex where many of the residents are pensioners or self-funded retirees.

Ms S…

Private health insurance changes explained

Private health insurance changes explained: Age of dependents on family polices to rise to 31 By Stuart Marsh • Senior Producer As part of the government's 2020-21 budget, the age of children to be considered as "dependents" under family health insurance policies has risen. From April 1 this year, the maximum age of a dependant for a private health policy will be increased to 31. The reasoning behind this is to give young people more time before facing financial decisions, especially in the wake of one of the hardest youth employment years in recent memory. Here's what we know about the changes: From April 1 this year, the maximum age of a dependant for a private health policy will be increased to 31. (iStock) What age can children be listed as dependents on family private health cover? From April 1, 2021, the maximum age of dependants for family private health insurance polices will rise from 24 to 31-years-old. This mea…

Australian businesses fight insurance industry for payouts over coronavirus revenue losses

Australian businesses fight insurance industry for payouts over coronavirus revenue losses ABC Investigations / By Pat McGrath and Kyle Taylor Detlef Haupt in his Sydney cafe.(ABC News: David Maguire) Detlef Haupt survived a near-knockout blow when the COVID-19 economic crash drained his cafe of customers and put the future of his 15-year-old business on the line. Key points: Australians are battling insurers to claim pay-outs they say they are entitled to as a result of lost revenue due to COVID-19 Some insurers are relying on fine print in policies that reference legislation that no longer exists The insurance industry has defended itself, saying that paying out such claims would cost $10 billion

His only small comfort during the worst of the downturn was the belief his insurance policy covered him for this exact kind of revenue shock.

His insurer believed otherwise.

How life insurance is purchased affects the payout

How life insurance is purchased affects the payout Buying life insurance through a superannuation fund often results in fewer disputes, faster processing times and higher "payout ratios" than other ways of purchasing cover, new data show. Statistics from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority for the year ended June 30 reveal that insurance bought through super funds paid out 85 cents of every dollar of premium in claims for death and 95 cents for total and permanent disability (TPD) claims. When it comes to life insurance, it pays to read the fine print.CREDIT:GABRIELE CHAROTTE For insurance purchased through financial advisers, the payout ratio plunged to 42 cents in the dollar for death policies and 49 cents for TPD. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission's (ASIC) life insurance comparison tool, which uses the same APRA data, shows that for TPD claims there were 19 disputes per 100,000 claims for cover obtained through group insur…

Insurer says government to pay for COVID-19

'Not enough capital': Insurer says government to pay for COVID-19 By Charlotte Grieve Insurance Australia Group chief executive Peter Harmer says there is not enough capital in the insurance industry globally to cover the financial fallout from COVID-19, as the insurer posted a 60 per cent fall in profit. Mr Harmer said it was the government’s responsibility to foot the bill for the pandemic ahead of the NSW Supreme Court’s decision on whether insurance policies that exclude pandemics are valid. “There is a size of loss that becomes quite systemic where the government needs to act as a shock absorber,” Mr Harmer said. “The government has an interest in making sure we have a viable, sustainable industry.” IAG chief executive Peter Harmer said catastrophic weather events and the pandemic in the second half had undermined the company's bottom line.CREDIT:ANTHONY JOHNSON The test case will determine if insurance policies that rely on an outdated definition o…

Australians urged to check superannuation balances amid severe insurance premium increases

Australians have been warned to check their superannuation balances after severe increases in insurance premiums come into effect by the end of the year.

Funds have blamed government legislation designed to sweep away inequities in the super system for the increases in premiums, which can range from double-digit increases on death and disability cover to more than 60% for income protection insurance in some schemes.

But with millions of workers not regularly checking their super accounts for new fees and charges, consumer advocates have warned that people could be paying for expensive cover that they do not want or need.

ATO to review super protections for victims of domestic violence under Coalition's early access scheme Read more

Lifting the lid on home insurance price gouging

Lifting the lid on home insurance price gouging By Joel Gibson Ever noticed how you can compare the price of electricity plans at government or commercial comparison websites easily but not home and car insurance plans? There are various websites that enable you to compare the prices and features of mortgages, credit cards and health insurance, too. Professor Allan Fels has lifted the lid on opaque insurance pricing.CREDIT:STEVEN SIEWERT NBN and mobile phone plans? Easy. Even petrol prices are collected and published in some states. But car and home insurance? To shop around and compare more than a handful, you must go to the websites of individual providers and get quotes by yourself. Insurance pricing is a "black box", and the industry has fought hard to keep it that way. It says comparison websites lead consumers to make bad choices because they are too focused on price and, if we all bought insurance based on price, it would be a disaste…