Legal and regulatory update for the life and health insurance sector
8 Aug 2023 - The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has published the results of its first life insurance industry stress test (LIIST). The 2022/23 LIIST demonstrates the largest insurers in the sector are well placed to withstand severe economic and insurance shocks, while continuing to pay out on policy claims. https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/hub/news/2023/08/first-rbnz-life-insurance-stress-test-shows-industry-well-placed-to-withstand-severe-shocks
8 Aug 2023 - ASIC outline their key enforcement priorities for 2023 which include greenwashing, targeting the poor design and distribution of financial products, pricing promises in insurance, protecting financially vulnerable consumers from predatory lending practices or high-cost credit, and directors’ duties and governance failures. https://asic.gov.au/about-asic/news-centre/speeches/maintaining-a-strong-focus-on-enforcing-the-law/
9 Aug 2023 - Paul Gregory's speech on 'Greenwashing - a view from the regulator' at the Responsible Investment Association Australasia (RIAA) Conference Aotearoa NZ 2023 is published https://www.fma.govt.nz/library/speeches-and-presentations/speech-by-paul-gregory-at-riaa-conference-2023/
9 Aug 2023 - NZ Police Financial Intelligence Unit released “The Suspicious Activity Report” for June 2023 https://www.police.govt.nz/sites/default/files/publications/fiu-monthly-report-june2023.pdf
10 Aug 2023 - The Reserve Bank of New Zealand – Te Pūtea Matua (RBNZ) has published the stress test scenario that our largest banks are using to test their ability to withstand severe, but plausible long-term climate-related challenges. https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/hub/news/2023/08/rbnz-releases-too-little-too-late-climate-resilience-stress-test-scenario
10 Aug 2023 - The Commerce Commission has outlined the key products and issues it proposes to explore in the market study into personal banking services, with the release of the Preliminary Issues paper. https://comcom.govt.nz/news-and-media/media-releases/2023/commerce-commission-outlines-proposed-focus-for-market-study-into-personal-banking
11 Aug 2023 - Findings from the latest Reserve Bank of New Zealand - Te Pūtea Matua Relationship Charter survey show significant improvements among insurer stakeholders in their ratings of the relationship with RBNZ. Key suggestions for what the Reserve Bank could do differently to improve the relationship included more proactive and personal contact from RBNZ, and flexibility on regulatory projects. 90% of bank participants gave an overall rating of ‘good’ or ‘very good’ for the relationship. Insurer participants’ ratings of the overall relationship with the Reserve Bank have increased significantly since last year (92% rating the relationship as ‘good’ or ‘very good’ in 2023 compared to 72% in 2022). https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/hub/news/2023/08/rbnzs-relationship-charter-shows-continued-growth-in-regulatory-relationships