Tab 4 of 6 · The Code
The General Insurance Code of Practice, and the clock it starts
The General Insurance Code of Practice is the Insurance Council of Australia’s code for general insurers, setting standards of service such as being open, fair and honest, and timeframes for responding to claims, complaints and requests for information. It binds the insurers that adopt it, and it works alongside the law rather than replacing it.
Who it binds
The Insurance Council introduced the Code in 1994 as a voluntary code and has reviewed and updated it regularly. The current text says it took effect on 5 October 2021, and the Insurance Council’s page says the current Code was last updated in October 2023. A redrafted Code is in progress: public consultation on the draft ran from 24 June to 21 July 2026 and has closed.
The Code applies to insurers that have adopted it, and the Insurance Council publishes a list of Code subscribers. By adopting it, an insurer enters a contract with the Insurance Council to comply. The Code does not limit your rights under the law, and if it conflicts with a Commonwealth, state or territory law, the law prevails.
The whole Code applies to retail insurance; several parts, including those on buying, cancelling, claims and complaints, do not apply to wholesale insurance. Every insurer that adopts it commits to one overarching promise: to be honest, efficient, fair, transparent and timely in its dealings with you, along with its distributors and service suppliers.
Scope
What it covers, and what it leaves out
Covered
General insurance products, which include home building, home contents and car policies; the Code names its exceptions rather than listing every product it covers.
Not covered
Workers compensation, marine, medical indemnity, motor vehicle injury and domestic builders insurance; reinsurance; life insurance from a life insurer; and health insurance from a registered health insurer.
The clock
Every timeframe a Code insurer commits to
| When | The insurer commits to | Within |
|---|---|---|
| You lodge a claim and more is needed | Tell you what information it needs, appoint a loss assessor or adjuster if necessary, and estimate the timeframe and process | 10 business days |
| It appoints a loss assessor, adjuster or investigator | Tell you, and explain their role | 5 business days |
| It engages an external expert | Ask the expert to report within that time, and keep you informed if they do not | 12 weeks |
| While the claim is open | Update you on progress, and answer routine enquiries within 10 business days | Every 20 business days |
| It has all the information | Decide, and tell you the decision | 10 business days |
| Overall decision | Decide the claim, or tell you in writing about its complaints process | 4 months of receiving it |
| Listed exceptions (an extraordinary catastrophe, suspected fraud, no response from you, and others) | Tell you its decision in writing | 12 months |
| You show urgent financial need after an event such as a natural disaster | Fast-track the claim, pay an advance, or both; any advance is paid within 5 business days | 5 business days |
| You ask for reports or information it relied on to deny a claim | Give them to you | 10 business days |
| You cancel and are owed a refund | Return the amount (arrangements differ through a broker) | 15 business days |
| An instalment is missed on a policy paid by 7 or more instalments a year | Send a written notice before any cancellation for non-payment | At least 14 calendar days before |
| You complain | Keep you informed, unless resolved sooner or you agree otherwise | Every 10 business days |
| Complaint decision | Decide; if it cannot, explain the delay in writing and tell you about AFCA | 30 calendar days |
| A property claim from a declared catastrophe, finalised within 1 month of the event | Accept a request to review it, even if you signed a release | 12 months of finalisation |
The claim timeframes can move. If one is not practical, for example because a claim is complex, the insurer commits to agreeing a reasonable alternative timetable with you, and to telling you about its complaints process if you cannot agree. The claims standards also stop applying if you start proceedings about the claim in a court or tribunal, other than through AFCA.
Commitments at the point of sale
- Plain language. Reasonable steps to make communications plain.
- No pressure selling. The Code prohibits it, and insurers must make that clear to their employees and distributors.
- Relevant questions only. When assessing an application, the insurer asks for and relies on information only if it is relevant to the decision, and corrects mistakes it finds or that you point out.
- Reasons if it says no. If it cannot offer insurance, it gives its reasons, tells you that you can ask for the information it relied on, and refers you to the Insurance Council or the insurance brokers’ national association for information about other options.
- A premium comparison at renewal. For home building, home contents and car policies bought directly from the insurer (fleet and business car policies aside), the renewal notice compares this year’s premium with last year’s and explains how it is calculated.
- No claims discount explained. If a policy has one (also called a no claims bonus or entitlement), the insurer must say how it works.
Who enforces it
The Code Governance Committee monitors and enforces the Code. Its members are a consumer representative, an industry representative and an independent chair. Anyone can report an alleged breach to it at any time.
Its sanctions range from requiring rectification steps or an audit to, for a significant breach, ordering compensation for direct financial loss, publication of the breach, or a community benefit payment of up to $100,000. Its decisions and sanctions are binding on the insurer, and it reports significant breaches or serious misconduct to ASIC.
The Committee deals with breaches of the Code; a dispute about your own claim goes through the insurer’s complaints process and then AFCA, whose decisions bind the insurer as its rules set out. That path has its own tab.