Insurance Council of Australia Limited - Authorisation - A91086

The Insurance Council of Australia has sought authorisation for an agreement between its members (both present and future) to voluntarily adopt a common definition of 'inland flood'.

On 3 September 2008 the ACCC released a determination in this matter denying authorisation to the Insurance Council's proposal.

In its draft determination the ACCC considered that the Insurance Council's proposed common definition was not likely to deliver benefits to the public which would outweigh its likely anti-competitive detriment. The ACCC however considered that, with the imposition of conditions, it was more likely that the net public benefit test could be met and accordingly proposed to grant conditional authorisation to the Insurance Council and its members.

Having had regard to the additional materials provided to it by consumer groups, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and the National Insurance Brokers Association following the draft decision, the ACCC can no longer be satisfied that the imposition of conditions would alleviate its concerns. In particular the ACCC notes that the potential for the proposed common definition to introduce new concepts and to increase consumer confusion is not a concern which can be addressed by the imposition of conditions.