Summary

The Supreme Court of New South Wales has recently delivered a judgment concerning a claim for a Total and Permanent Disablement (TPD) benefit. The proceedings were heard by Justice Hallen.

Background

The plaintiff, Ms Susan Folmer, commenced work with Aspire Mental Health Services as a community development officer and counsellor in late 2007. She was a member of the Victorian Superannuation Fund (the Fund). VicSuper Pty Ltd was the trustee of the Fund.

Summary

Justice White of the NSWSC recently handed down a decision dealing with an ‘offset’ clause in a group salary continuance (GSC) policy. Bearing in mind both the prevalence of such clauses in group and retail IP policies and the commonality of the wording of such clauses, the decision has industry wide implications.

Background 

Summary

In this case the Court considered the issue of fraudulent misrepresentation, and whether the insurer was entitled to avoid contracts of life insurance pursuant to section 29(2) of the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (the Act).

Background

The plaintiff was a former police officer whose TPD claim was declined. She commenced proceedings and the NSW Supreme Court made orders for the separate determination of questions with respect to, in essence, whether the insurer breached duties including the duty to act reasonably in forming its opinion.

The Judgment

On 20 September 2018, the Treasury Laws Amendment (Design and Distribution Obligations and Product Intervention Powers) Bill 2018 was referred by the Senate to the Economics Legislation Committee for inquiry. On 9 November 2018, the Committee released its report recommending the Bill be passed, with no changes suggested.

Life insurers are now required to report on claims and disputes data to APRA with the release of new compulsory standards.

The requirements for claims include measured variables such as insurance type, on-sale status, advice type, cover type, product type, and various sub-categories for specific products or cover types. The reporting form includes 3 additional claims data sheets that provide totals or sub-totals.

The industry’s proposal that life insurers should be permitted to have greater involvement in rehabilitation processes, so that sick and injured claimants can get back to work sooner was the subject of a report from the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services on 20 September 2018.

The Committee received over twenty submissions from interested parties including a body representing the private healthcare industry, the ATCU, individual unions and plaintiff law firms who opposed the move.

And the winner of the 2018 ALUCA TurksLegal Scholarship is… Evgeney Schkola, Case Manager, CommInsure!

Welcome to the Financial Services Bulletin (FSB) – February Edition, 2019

What's happening here and now

Winner Announced for the 2018 Scholarship

And the winner of the 2018 ALUCA TurksLegal Scholarship is…Evgeney Schkola, Case Manager, CommInsure!

SafeWork NSW v Williams Pressing and Packaging Services Pty Limited [2018] NSWDC 409

Summary

A NSW employer has pleaded guilty to a criminal offence under the Work Health & Safety Act 2011 and been ordered to pay a fine of $60,000 after failing to provide a safe system of work at its warehouse.

The case