The recent claims experience in the group insurance market and consequent premium rises have prompted the Financial Services Council (FSC) to call for a statute of limitations on disability claims.
The call has been made by FSC chief executive John Brogden at the FSC's Life Insurance Conference, where he also said his organisation believed there should be changes made to the Private Health Insurance Act to enable insurers to fund medical treatment for claimants to improve return-to-work rates.
The FSC chief executive's comments on a statute of limitations has come in the wake of hefty premium rises being imposed on superannuation funds for group insurance, driven in large measure by higher claims experienced around total and permanent disability (TPD).
Brogden said a ‘statute of limitations' on group insurance disability claims would help the industry manage pricing with more certainty and ensure the long-term sustainability of premiums.
On the question of changes to the Private Health Insurance Act, he said it represented an important measure which had the capacity to deliver better outcomes for claimants and would help them manage increasing claims costs for insurers.
"It will also help to improve the welfare of individuals by allowing them to remain engaged in the workforce and ultimately contribute to economic growth through higher labour force participation," he said.
Brogden claimed the FSC was leading the response to non-regulatory issues that must be dealt with by the industry, including improving the quality and consistency of data shared by the industry, particularly for group insurance; considering an industry fraud bureau similar to that used by the general insurance industry and in other countries such as Canada and South Korea; and establishing a medical impairment bureau.
