ASIC has published its Report 245 Review of general insurance claims handling and internal dispute resolution procedures (REP 245) which reviews general insurance claims handling and internal dispute resolution (IDR) procedures in the context of motor vehicle insurance. The review looked at claims in 2009 on eight general insurers, representing 20 car insurance brands and approximately 75% of the direct retail market.

The report makes 9 recommendations including:

• insurers should record information relating to both denied and withdrawn claims, and should regularly analyse and review that information.
• insurers should provide written responses to consumers who complain about the outcome of their claim, both after any initial review of the complaint as well as when a dispute is finalised. A written response should set out the reasons for the decision, the availability of further review and information about the Financial Ombudsman Service.
• Insurers should review their systems and processes for recording and analysing Tier 1 complaints to align them with systems used at Tier 2, so that they are able to extract useful information to address the underlying causes of complaints