Commonwealth Numbered Regulations

1994 No. 327 INSURANCE CONTRACTS REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT) - REG 6

6.1 After regulation 32, insert: Notices under section 71A (2) of the
Act-prescribed matters

"33. (1) For the purposes of subsection 71A (2) of the Act, the manner in
which a person must ensure that a written notice of a kind referred to in that
subsection is freely available is by ensuring that the notice is:

   (a)  readily available at all of the person's points of sale of consumer
        credit insurance; and

   (b)  handed to each member of the public:

        (i)    who expresses an interest in, or who reveals a need for,
               consumer credit; or

        (ii)   with whom the person concludes a sale of consumer credit
               insurance; and

   (c)  consistent with the person's duty, under section 13 of the Act, of the
        utmost good faith.



"(2) For the purposes of paragraph 71A (2) (a) of the Act, a written notice
must be in a form that includes the following material:

   (a)  a brief explanation of the purposes of consumer credit insurance;

   (b)  an outline statement of the general areas covered by the policy, or
        kind of policy, to which the notice relates;

   (c)  a statement to the effect that it is important for the insured to read
        the policy carefully in order to understand the extent of cover
        provided by the policy, and its limitations;

   (d)  subject to subregulation (3)-a statement to the effect that a person
        who applies for, or obtains, consumer credit is not required to
        purchase consumer credit insurance;

   (e)  information about:

        (i)    the insurer's internal procedures for resolving disputes
               between an insured person and the insurer; and

        (ii)   if applicable, the insurance industry's arrangements for
               resolving disputes of that kind;

   (f)  the insurer's name and address.



"(3) The statement specified in paragraph (2) (d) is not required if it would
be an incorrect statement of the law of the relevant State.



"(4) The written notice must:

   (a)  be written in a style that is as clear and straightforward as its
        subject matter reasonably permits; and

   (b)  be in clearly legible print.



"(5) For the purposes of paragraph 71A (2) (b) of the Act, the prescribed
terms for a written notice under subsection 71A (2) of the Act to explain the
general nature of insurance of the kind to which the notice relates are terms
to the effect that:

   (a)  the insurance cover is provided in respect of losses caused by certain
        contingencies (giving appropriate examples, such as unemployment,
        death or disability); and

   (b)  the extent of loss is measured by reference to the liability of the
        insured under the credit agreement to which the insurance applies.

Notices under section 71A (3) of the Act

"34. (1) For the purposes of paragraph 71A (3) (a) of the Act, the Form set
out in Schedule 2 is prescribed as the form of written notice referred to in
subsection 71A (3) of the Act.



"(2) The form of the written notice must:

   (a)  have a minimum length of 200 millimetres and a minimum width of 160
        millimetres; and

   (b)  be in clearly legible print; and

   (c)  be clearly distinguishable from any other documents to which it is
        attached or of which it forms a part.



"(3) For the purposes of paragraph 71A (3) (b) of the Act, the information
that a written notice referred to in that subsection must contain is the
information stated in the Form set out in Schedule 2.



"(4) In spite of subregulation (3), a written notice must not include
information that is inapplicable if its inclusion would be, or might
reasonably be regarded as being, misleading. EXAMPLES: A reference to agent's
commission is inapplicable if no agent's commission has been paid; the use of
the term 'unemployment' in the 'information' box is not required if the term
'involuntary unemployment' more accurately describes the relevant insurance
cover so as to make the term 'unemployment' inapplicable.



"(5) If an employee or agent of an insurer arranges or makes a contract of
consumer credit insurance with the insured, or an agent of the insured, in
person, the insurer must ensure that the insured or agent of the insured signs
and dates the declaration at the foot of the form.

Notices under section 71A (5) of the Act

"35. (1) For the purposes of paragraph 71A (5) (a) of the Act, a written
notice must be in a form that includes the following material:

   (a)  a statement that the person to whom the notice is sent purchased
        consumer credit insurance in respect of the credit agreement to which
        the insurance relates;

   (b)  a statement to the effect that there may be limitations to the
        insurance cover and that the insured should refer to the policy
        documents for full details of the insurance cover;

   (c)  if the policy was a single premium policy-a statement of the total
        premium paid;

   (d)  a notice of the 'cooling-off' period and a statement of the method of
        cancellation of the policy during that period;

   (e)  information about:

        (i)    the insurer's internal procedures for resolving disputes
               between an insured person and the insurer; and

        (ii)   if applicable, the insurance industry's arrangements for
               resolving disputes of that kind;

   (f)  contact details (including the telephone number) of a contact person
        for any queries in relation to the insurance;

   (g)  a completed information box in the following format:
TABLE:
SOME IMPORTANT BENEFIT LIMITS ON YOUR POLICY
  Unemployment  Maximum number of claims   Benefit limit.........

(e.g. insurer will meet
instalments for .... months
per claim)
  Disability    Maximum number of claims   Benefit limit ............

(e.g. insurer will meet
instalments for .... months
per claim)
  Death         Cover Available/Not Available




"(2) The written notice must:

   (a)  be written in a style that is as clear and straightforward as its
        subject matter reasonably permits; and

   (b)  be in clearly legible print; and

   (c)  not be accompanied by any promotional material; and

   (d)  unless a copy of the policy document has already been given to the
        person to whom the notice is sent-be accompanied by that document.".