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ARTICLE · 11 NOVEMBER 2014

Asia Pacific - focus on insurance: Australia

Norton Rose Fulbright Australia
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Insurers and intermediaries should keep an eye on developments in the UK as an indicator for what might be in store.

AustraliaInsurance
Matthew Ellis
Matthew Ellis
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Add-on insurance products and a new approach to regulation

There is real potential for the regulatory landscape in Australia to undergo a significant shift in coming years - from one based on ensuring consumers have sufficient information to make informed investment choices to one aimed at ensuring the consumer environment is one that promotes good investment decisions. While the language may suggest only a subtle change of focus, the reality is a monumental shift in philosophy with disclosure-based regulation giving way to targeted market intervention. That this is the direction we are heading can be gleaned from Australian Securities and Investments Commission's (ASIC) submissions to the Financial Services Inquiry (FSI) where it has called on government to provide it with a broader regulatory 'toolkit' to enable it to intervene in product design and development and address market challenges that disclosure-based regulation, according to ASIC, has proven incapable

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