The Insurance Council of Australia is still consulting on its code of practice redraft, as consumers await a document that will deliver improvements in response to recommendations delivered more than a year ago.

ICA says it has committed to strengthening consumer protections and the new code will be submitted for Australian Securities and Investments Commission approval in due course.

“We are working in close consultation with consumer advocates through the redrafting of the code to make insurer obligations clearer, contractually enforceable and in plain language consumers can actually use,” a spokesperson told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

“This is complex work that demands broad consultation, and further consultation including public consultation will take place before the code is finalised for submission to ASIC.”

An independent code review panel released a discussion paper in April 2024 and delivered a final report at the end of that year.

Last May, ICA said it expected public consultation would take place in the first quarter of this year, with the document to be lodged for ASIC approval in mid-2026.

A later update said public consultation would take place in the first half, with the code expected to be lodged in the second six months.

Consumer Action Law Centre assistant director of policy and campaigns Meg Dalling says nearly two years have passed since the industry started reviewing its code.

“Sadly, we continue to hear from distressed clients who need our help to navigate complex systems just to enforce their rights, often in horrid circumstances in the aftermath of an extreme weather event,” she said.

“We know what needs to be improved – we just need industry to move faster in making these changes.”

The independent review was held in parallel with the federal parliamentary inquiry into the 2022 floods, which delivered findings in October 2024, producing some overlap with code recommendations.

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