Consumer groups will not accept the insurance inside superannuation code of conduct until it is both mandatory and subject to external oversight, according to specialist lawyer, John Berrill.
At the same time Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees (AIST) senior policy manger, David Haynes, said the organisation was now close to adopting a binding code, subject to the completion of comprehensive consultation with member funds.
Speaking during a panel at the Conference of Major Superannuation Funds (CMSF) on the Gold Coast, Berrill said that while external oversight had been something factored into the drafting of the insurance inside superannuation code of conduct, it had not been included in what was finally implemented.
“AIST accepts code should be binding and it will be following the completion of a consultative process,” Haynes said.
Delegates attending the CMSF panel session were polled on whether the code should be enforceable, with 70 per cent of respondents agreeing that it should be.
Asked whether sanctions should be imposed against those who breached the code, Berrill said he believed such an approach was a “no brainer” in terms of making insurers and superannuation funds and their insurers more accountable.
