AFCA has published its Systemic Issues Insights Report for financial firms for the period between July and December 2023.
Between July and December 2023, AFCA identified and investigated 111 systemic issues.
Reports to regulators in the first half of financial year 23-24 included reports to ASIC, APRA and other regulators (such as OAIC, ATO) for the following sectors: Banking and finance, General insurance, Life insurance, Investments and advice, and Superannuation.
The systemic issues included the following:
Banking and finance
• Compliance with Regulatory Guide 271: Internal Dispute Resolution
• AFCA engagement: Collection activity during open AFCA complaints
• Dealing with third party representatives (Firm not accepting signed authority forms from other organisations)
• Failure of an automated system causing an error eg duplicate payments and delays for customer
payments
• Dealing with scams including elements of prevention, investigation, recovery
and communications
General insurance
• Dealing with third party representatives
• AFCA engagement: Collection activity during open AFCA complaints
• Policy interpretation
Life insurance
• Breach of policy terms
Investments and advice
• Processing error
Superannuation
• Adequacy of claims handling process
• Breach of obligations under SIS Act and SIS Regulations (Failure to process superannuation rollover requests on time)
• Cancellation of policies (Insurance cover incorrectly cancelled )
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Author: David Jacobson
Principal, Bright Corporate Law
Email:
About David Jacobson
The information contained in this article is not legal advice. It is not to be relied upon as a full statement of the law. You should seek professional advice for your specific needs and circumstances before acting or relying on any of the content.
