The initial report of the independent review of the General Insurance Code of Practice has recommended changes to the Code drawing from our research on insurance discrimination and hepatitis C.
The report finds that some insurers ask questions about health conditions, such as hepatitis C, which demand unreasonably extensive information, and that this can risk non-disclosure. In doing so, it cites our article on “Insurance discrimination and hepatitis C“.
Based on findings in our article, the report recommends that insurers be required, in questionnaires and application processes, to ensure sensitivity, avoid stigmatisation, and only collect information that is necessary to assess and insure the risk presented by the customer.
In addition to this, the independent review recommended changes to the Code drawing from the Victorian Pride Lobby and InsurePride report “Worth the Risk: LGBTIQA+ experiences with insurance providers“, authored by GLaD Program researcher Dr Sean Mulcahy.
The independent review report found that LGBTIQA+ inclusion is not effectively met by insurer practices and commitments and recommended that ‘sexual orientation, gender identity and sex characteristics’ should be added to the paragraph of the Code that includes customer groups that may require extra care, in line with recommendations in the Worth the Risk report.
Pleasingly, this recommendation has already been supported by the Insurance Council of Australia and the General Insurance Code Governance Committee in their submissions to the review. In addition, the Insurance Council of Australia’s Consumer Advisory Committee noted that the general insurance sector has made considerable progress in responding to the best-practice recommendations in the Worth the Risk report. We are hopeful that this progress continues and look forward to working with the Review Panel, the Insurance Council of Australia, the Financial Rights Legal Centre, Hepatitis Australia, and others in the implementation of these important recommendations to reduce insurance discrimination against LGBTIQA+ people and people with (a history of) hepatitis C.