Claims Expense by State and Territory of Australia

Objective of this reporting standard

This reporting standard is made under section 13 of the Financial Sector (Collection of Data) Act 2001 (the Collection of Data Act). It requires general insurers (insurers), including foreign general insurers (foreign insurers) operating in Australia through branch operations, to report to APRA, generally on an annual basis, on the claims expense by State and Territory of Australia.

This standard outlines the overall requirements for the provision of this information to APRA. It should be read in conjunction with Form GRF 430.0 Claims Expense by State and Territory of Australia (Form GRF 430.0) and the instructions to that form (which are attached and form part of this reporting standard).

Purpose

1. Data collected in Form GRF 430.0 is used by APRA on behalf of the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). APRA will use this information to monitor the source of claims expense by State and Territory of Australia.

Application and commencement

2. This reporting standard applies to all insurers on and from 1 January 2007.

Information required

3. An insurer must provide APRA with the information required by Form GRF 430.0 for each reporting period.

Forms and method of submission

4. The information required by this reporting standard must be given to APRA either:

(a) in electronic form using the ‘Direct to APRA’ application, applying one of the electronic submission mechanisms under that application; or

(b) by manually completing Form GRF 430.0 on paper and mailing the completed form to APRA’s head office at Level 26, 400 George Street, Sydney, New South Wales.

Where the information is submitted by means of an agent to whom the insurer has outsourced the function of providing the information on the insurer’s behalf, the agent may only provide the information in accordance with subparagraph 4(b) if the agent has contacted APRA and advised that the agent cannot submit the information in electronic form under subparagraph 4(a).

Note: the Direct to APRA application software and paper forms may be obtained from APRA.

Reporting periods and due dates

5. Subject to paragraph 6, an insurer must provide the information required by this reporting standard in respect of each financial year (within the meaning of the Corporations Act 2001) of the insurer.

Note: APRA proposes to determine exemptions, under section 7 of the Insurance Act 1973 (Insurance Act), from the obligations under Part IV Division 4 of the Insurance Act in respect of the auditing of information provided under this reporting standard.

6. APRA may, by notice in writing, change the reporting periods, or specified reporting periods, for a particular insurer to require it to provide the information:

(a) more frequently (if, having regard to the particular circumstances of the insurer, APRA considers it necessary or desirable to obtain information more frequently for the purposes of the prudential supervision of the insurer); or

(b) less frequently (if, having regard to the particular circumstances of the insurer and the extent to which it requires prudential supervision, APRA considers it unnecessary to require the insurer to provide the information as frequently as provided by paragraph 5).

7. The information required by paragraph 3 of this reporting standard must be provided to APRA 4 months after the end of the reporting period to which the information relates.

8. APRA may grant an insurer an extension of a due date in writing, in which case the new due date for the provision of the information will be the date on the notice of extension.

Authorisation

9. The information provided by an insurer under this reporting standard must be subject to processes and controls developed by the insurer for the internal review and authorisation of that information. It is the responsibility of the board and senior management of the insurer to ensure that an appropriate set of policies and procedures for the authorisation of data submitted to APRA is in place.

10. If the officer of an insurer provides the information required by this reporting standard:

(a) under subparagraph 4(a), the officer must digitally sign, authorise and encrypt the information (for which purpose APRA’s certificate authority will issue digital certificates, for use with the ‘Direct to APRA’ application, to officers of the insurer who have authority from the insurer to transmit data to APRA); or

(b) under subparagraph 4(b), the completed form must be signed in accordance with paragraph 12.

11. If an insurer provides the information required by this reporting standard through an agent under either subparagraph 4(a) or (b), the agent will not be required to sign or authorise the information. However, the insurer must:

(a) obtain from the agent a paper copy of the completed form as provided to APRA (whether it was provided under subparagraph 4(a) or (b)); and

(b) cause the paper copy to be signed in accordance with paragraph 12; and

(c) lodge the signed paper copy with APRA by mailing the completed form to APRA’s head office at Level 26, 400 George Street, Sydney, New South Wales, by the relevant due date (unless APRA, in writing, waives the requirement to lodge the signed paper copy with APRA by varying this reporting standard in relation to the insurer).

Note: APRA may, for example, determine to waive the requirement under subparagraph 11(c) where an insurer has undertaken to retain the signed copy of the completed form for an agreed period of time.

12. If information under this reporting standard is provided in paper form, it must be signed on the front page of the relevant completed form by either:

(a) the Principal Executive Officer of the insurer; or

(b) the Chief Financial Officer of the insurer (whatever his or her official title may be).

Minor alterations to forms and instructions

13. APRA may make minor variations to:

(a) a form that is part of this reporting standard, and the instructions to such a form, to correct technical, programming or logical errors, inconsistencies or anomalies; or

(b) the instructions, to clarify their application to the form

without changing any substantive requirement in the form or instructions.

14. If APRA makes such a variation it must notify general insurers in writing.

Transition

15. An insurer must report in relation to a reporting period ending prior to 1 January 2007 in accordance with the reporting standard that this reporting standard replaced.

Interpretation

16. In this reporting standard:

authorised reinsurer means an insurer whose business consists only of undertaking liability by way of reinsurance;

approved auditor means an auditor who has been approved by APRA under section 40 of the Insurance Act;

foreign insurer means a foreign general insurer within the meaning of the Insurance Act;

Note: A reference to a ‘branch’ or ‘branch operation’ is a reference to the Australian operations of a foreign insurer.

Insurance Act means the Insurance Act 1973;

insurer means a general insurer within the meaning of the Insurance Act;

Note: In the forms and instructions, a reference to an ‘authorised insurer’, ‘authorised insurance entity’ or ‘licensed insurer’ is a reference to an insurer.

Principal Executive Officer means the principal executive officer of the insurer for the time being, by whatever name called, and whether or not he or she is a member of the governing board of the insurer;

reporting period means a period mentioned in paragraph 5 or, if applicable, paragraph 6.

17. A reference to a prudential standard means the prudential standard, made under section 32 of the Insurance Act, mentioned in the reference, as amended from time to time. If the prudential standard has been revoked and replaced, the reference shall be taken to be to the prudential standard that has replaced it.