26-236MR Hollard fined $2 million for serious insurance claim delay

For financial services executives, this enforcement action reinforces that claims handling is a core conduct obligation—not a back-office function. Compliance teams across insurance and claims management should treat timely, fair and well-documented claims outcomes as a regulatory priority. Key implications: ASIC will pursue court penalties where delays and poor processes cause serious customer harm; boards and senior management are expected to have visibility of claims performance, resourcing and vulnerable-customer escalation.

Recommended actions: conduct a targeted review of claims handling for serious, complex or long-tail claims; identify delay drivers such as capacity constraints, manual handoffs, poor triage or insufficient oversight of outsourced providers; strengthen service-level monitoring and early warning indicators; ensure vulnerable customers are identified and escalated promptly; update training and procedures; and test remediation and breach-reporting frameworks. Firms should also review complaint and AFCA data for recurring claims issues and consider whether current governance, MI and assurance provide sufficient challenge. Risks include penalties, remediation costs, reputational damage and increased ASIC scrutiny.

Opportunities include improved customer trust, lower complaint volumes, more efficient claims operations and a competitive advantage for firms that demonstrate consistent, fair and timely claims outcomes.