The Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) has welcomed the opportunity to make a submission on the implementation of Recommendation 4.8 from the financial services Royal Commission.

The Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry recommended that the handling and settlement of insurance claims, or potential insurance claims, should no longer be excluded from the definition of ‘financial service’.

In its submission, AFCA said it agreed with the recommendation and confirmed its support for reforms to implement Recommendation 4.8:

“AFCA agrees with the Financial Services Royal Commission’s Recommendation 4.8, which is to remove the exclusion of handling and settling insurance claims from the definition of a ‘financial service’ in the Corporations Act 2001.

We strongly supported reforms to implement this recommendation in our submission in April 2019 to an earlier round of consultation. We confirm our strong support for reforms to implement Recommendation 4.8.”

AFCA’s submission can be viewed at afca.org.au/submissions

Published: 30 January 2020

Media enquiries media@afca.org.au

About AFCA

The Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) is a non-government ombudsman service providing free, fair and independent help with financial disputes. It is a one-stop-shop for consumers and small businesses who have a dispute with their financial firm, over things such as banking, credit, insurance, advice, investments or superannuation. Where an agreement cannot be reached between parties, AFCA can issue decisions that are binding on financial firms.