ARTICLE · 23 MARCH 2010

Insurance Contracts Act Changes Finally Introduced into Parliament

Clayton Utz

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The Insurance Contracts Amendment Bill 2010 has been introduced into Parliament. Although most of the Bill is similar to the exposure draft of 2007, there have been some changes as a result of industry consultation.

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Peter Mann

Jocelyn Kellam

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Five years after the review of the Insurance Contracts Act by Alan Cameron and Clayton Utz consultant Nancy Milne, and three years after the exposure draft bill was released, the Insurance Contracts Amendment Bill 2010 has been introduced into Parliament. Although most of the Bill is similar to the exposure draft of 2007, there have been some changes as a result of industry consultation which we'll briefly highlight in this Alert.

The main areas of the Insurance Contracts Act being changed

The Bill amends the Insurance Contracts Act in these areas:

duty of utmost good faith
bundled contracts and unbundling contracts
electronic communication
powers of ASIC, including to take representative actions by ASIC on behalf of third party beneficiaries

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