The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has imposed additional compliance conditions on Australian Life Insurance (ALI) Distribution following a review.
The regulator says the Sydney-based insurance group failed to comply with a number of its obligations as an Australian financial services (AFS) licensee.
After an internal review, ALI Group reported to ASIC in December 2011 that from the time it was granted a financial services license in April 2003, ALI Group had: failed to notify ASIC of the appointment of all Authorised Representatives (ARs); failed to include the relevant ARs’ details on ALI Group’s Financial Service Guides (FSGs), and engaged in activities that weren’t part of their license terms.
ASIC will now require ALI Group to employ an external compliance consultant who will regularly report to ASIC until June 30, 2013.
The consultant will report on matters including the number of ARs appointed, the number of insurance policy applications submitted by ARs, and the adequacy of compliance resources used by ALI Group.
“Confidence in the financial services industry depends on licensees having robust compliance procedures in place, supported by appropriate competencies, resources and a culture of compliance,” said ASIC commissioner Peter Kell.
“ASIC will intervene to impose more onerous licence conditions to satisfy us and the broader community that licensees are meeting the standards expected of financial services participants.”
ASIC acknowledges that ALI Group proactively engaged an independent compliance consultant to identify and address their compliance issues.
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