INSURANCE

Bupa sued for $35m for misleading customers

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Original article by Michael Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 1-Jul-25

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission has asked the Federal Court to impose a $35 million fine on health insurer Bupa for allegedly misleading customers over a five-year period. The ACCC alleges that Bupa gave customers incorrect information in regard to claiming benefits in situations where two or more procedures were taking place at the same time, with some customers having to pay thousands of dollars or cancel medical procedures altogether as a result of the incorrect information. Bupa’s Asia Pacific CEO Nick Stone says he is "deeply sorry" that customers were given the wrong information, while ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb says Bupa should have invested in the proper training and processes to prevent such mistakes from occurring.

CORPORATES
BUPA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Medibank must release hack reports

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Original article by Angelica Snowden
The Australian – Page: 17 : 8-Apr-25

The Federal Court has ruled that Medibank’s customers should be given access to cyber-security reports that were prepared by Deloitte in the wake of the health insurer’s data breach in October 2022. Medibank had contended that the reports were subject to legal professional privilege. Justice Helen Rofe noted that Medibank had consistently stated that it would share the results of the external review, although she concluded that chairman Mike Wilkins had in fact never intended to do so. Customers who were affected by the cyber-attack are pursuing a class action against Medibank.

CORPORATES
MEDIBANK PRIVATE LIMITED – ASX MPL, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU LIMITED

Private Health Insurance Switching: HCF, Bupa, and ahm see biggest customer growth

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 25-Feb-25

Data from Roy Morgan shows that despite rising cost-of-living pressures, most Australians are maintaining private health insurance rather than opting out, but they are switching. As of December 2024, over half of Australians aged 14+ (57.2%) hold a private health insurance policy – equivalent to approximately 12.9 million people. This represents steady growth over the past five years, rising from 52.9% in December 2020 to 57.2% in December 2024. Some 6.8% of private health insurance policies were switched to another company in the year to December 2024, while 17.9% were renewed after approaching another company. In total, close to one in four (24.6%) people looked for a better health insurance policy deal, up from 22.3% in the previous year. HCF, Bupa and ahm have been the biggest winners from customer switching in the past 12 months, benefiting from their reputation for competitive pricing. In contrast, Medibank Private saw the largest customer loss due to switching.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, THE HOSPITAL CONTRIBUTIONS FUND OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, BUPA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AHM HEALTH INSURANCE, MEDIBANK PRIVATE LIMITED – ASX MPL

Labor’s next woe: health premiums

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Original article by Michael Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 16-Oct-24

Sources have indicated that private health insurers will seek approval from the federal government to increase their premiums by 5-6 per cent in 2025. This would be the highest increase since 2016, when premiums rose by an average of 6.18 per cent. Private health insurers are slated to make their final submissions to Health Minister Mark Butler in early November; the size of the premium increases is traditionally announced between December and March, and they take effect from 1 April. With the federal election due by mid-May and the cost-of-living crisis weighing on many voters, the government will be reluctant to approve a large increase in premiums.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HEALTH AND AGED CARE

Insurers’ flood cover options in flux

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Original article by Liam Walsh
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 12-Dec-23

Allianz has told a federal parliamentary inquiry into the 2022 floods that devasted large parts of eastern Australia that it is reviewing its customer choice flood cover. Currently one of the few home insurers that gives customers the option of having flood coverage, Allianz indicated it is now considering making it mandatory. For its part, Suncorp has told the inquiry that it has abolished two types of caravan and RV insurance, with these relating to relocatable homes and onsite caravans. It stated they were "unsustainable", due to the risks of associated with being located in caravan parks prone to flooding.

CORPORATES
ALLIANZ AUSTRALIA LIMITED, SUNCORP GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUN

There were nearly two million extra vehicle insurance policies in 2023

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 5-Dec-23

New data from Roy Morgan shows that there were 33.7 million vehicle insurance policies across Australia in October 2023, compared with 32.1 million in October 2022. The year-on-year increase of 1.6 million follows the substantial rise in Australia’s population after the winding down of COVID-19 restrictions, which contributed to an increasing number of registered motor vehicles on the nation’s roads. The research also shows that cost-of-living pressures are prompting more Australian to look for the best vehicle insurance deals; some 7.7% of vehicle insurance policies were switched to another company in the year to October, while 25.9% were renewed after approaching another company. These are some of the latest findings from Roy Morgan’s Single Source insurance data, derived from in-depth personal interviews conducted with over 60,000 Australians per annum.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Medibank to trial four-day work week

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Original article by Jessica Yun
Brisbane Times – Page: Online : 23-Oct-23

Health insurer Medibank Private will shortly commence a six-month trial of the 100:80:100 model, whereby employees retain 100 per cent of their salary for 80 per cent of their time, in exchange for a commitment productivity of 100 per cent. Some 250 employees will participate in the four-day working week trial, with a view to eventually rolling it out across the company. Professor Bronwen Dalton from the University of Technology, Sydney has praised Medibank’s initiative, but she believes that the length of the trial and the number of participants should be increased.

CORPORATES
MEDIBANK PRIVATE LIMITED – ASX MPL, UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SYDNEY

Medibank pays back unused $105m

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Original article by Liam Walsh
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 30-Jun-21

Private health insurer Medibank expects about two million customers of its flagship and ahm brands to be eligible for a discount on their next premium payment. Medical procedures such as elective surgery were cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, preventing policyholders from making full use of their private health coverage. HBF is among the other health funds that have previously revealed plans to return some money to its members.

CORPORATES
MEDIBANK PRIVATE LIMITED – ASX MPL, AHM HEALTH INSURANCE, HBF HEALTH LIMITED

More Australians switching insurance since COVID-19

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 9-Jun-21

New data from Roy Morgan shows that since the COVID-19 pandemic began, Australians with either vehicle insurance or household insurance have been far more likely to switch their insurance provider, and also far more likely to consider switching after looking for deals from other companies. In the year to March 2021, only 62.9% of the nation’s 30 million+ vehicle insurance policies (including Compulsory Third Party) were renewed without approaching another company, down from 77.9% in the year to March 2020. There was a significant increase in vehicle insurance policies that were renewed only after approaching other companies, up 9.2% points to 23.5%. There was a similar trend in the household insurance market, which comprises nearly 25 million policies. Some 68.1% of these policies were renewed without approaching another company, down 12.3% points from the year to March 2020 when 80.4% of household insurance policies were renewed. Meanwhile, 22% of household insurance policies were renewed after approaching other companies, up 7.7% points from a year ago, and 6.1% of policies were ‘switched’ from another company, up from 3.7% a year ago. These are some of the latest findings from Roy Morgan’s Single Source insurance data derived from in-depth personal interviews conducted with over 50,000 Australians per annum, including details of over 75,000 vehicle insurance policies and over 65,000 household insurance policies.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Under-insurance risk in super: Cbus

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Original article by Glenda Korporaal
The Australian – Page: 13 & 14 : 25-Jan-21

Cbus CEO executive Justin Arter has called for the government to exempt workers in high-risk jobs from the ‘stapling’ provisions of its proposed superannuation legislation. Under the legislation, a person’s superannuation fund would be the first fund that they signed up for. Arter notes that many of its members work in dangerous roles, but that 80 per cent are not first-time workers and would have super funds from their previous occupations; he is worried they risk being under-insured under the government’s proposals. He says Cbus offers superior insurance for people killed or injured while working, with Cbus insurance paying out $298 million in claims in 2019-20.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION AND BUILDING UNIONS’ SUPERANNUATION FUND