New South Wales Consolidated Acts

MOTOR ACCIDENTS COMPENSATION ACT 1999 - SECT 178

178 Information and documents as to business and finances to be supplied to Authority by insurers and former insurers

(cf s 115 MAA)

(1) In this section--

"documents" includes returns and accounts furnished under the Corporations Law , the Corporations Act 2001 of the Commonwealth and the Insurance Act 1973 of the Commonwealth.

"insurer" means a licensed insurer or a former licensed insurer.

(2) The Authority may require an insurer--

(a) to disclose to the Authority specified information relating to the business and financial position of the insurer or of any corporation which is a related body corporate (within the meaning of the Corporations Act 2001 of the Commonwealth), or

(b) to forward to the Authority, or make available for inspection, specified documents, or copies of or extracts from specified documents, kept by the insurer or by any corporation which is such a related body corporate.

(3) Subsection (2) extends to requiring--

(a) financial information that is or may be relevant to the consideration by the Authority of insurance premiums filed by the insurer under this Act, and

(b) information about the cost of claims handling incurred by the insurer, about the settlement of claims by the insurer, and

(c) information about other matters concerning the insurer,

but this subsection does not affect the generality of subsection (2), section 26 or any other provision of this Act regarding the obtaining of information by the Authority, and does not limit any other manner in which the Authority may obtain information.

(4) A requirement under this section--

(a) must be made in writing and served on the insurer, and

(b) must specify the manner in which and the time within which the requirement is to be complied with.

(5) The manner in which a requirement is to be complied with may include the supply to the Authority of a certificate by a registered tax agent, a registered company auditor (within the meaning of the Corporations Act 2001 of the Commonwealth) or an actuary approved by the Authority as to the correctness of any specified information or specified documents (or copies of or extracts from specified documents).

(6) Unless the insurer satisfies the court that it is not within its power to comply with the requirement, an insurer that fails to comply with a requirement under this section is guilty of an offence.

: Maximum penalty--100 penalty units.