South Australians will find more transparency about relationships between motor vehicle insurers and repairers under new laws commencing 1 June.

The amendments to the Fair Trading Act 1987 mean insurers will need to tell policy holders about any relevant interest they have in a repairer and whether policy holders have a choice of repairer.

This includes if an insurer has a financial interest or contract with the repairer. Ad-hoc or one-off arrangements do not need to be disclosed.

The changes are designed to increase consumer awareness and support informed decision making regarding choice of repairer.

How to find declarations

Insurers will be required to publish on their website a list of repairers they have an interest in. They should also provide these statements directly to policy holders.

Advice about whether or not policy holders have a choice of repairer is to be supplied when entering into an insurance contract, policy renewal or making a claim.

When

The new regulations commence 1 June 2023 and give the industry 6 months to get its systems in order to comply ahead of Consumer and Business Services industry monitoring.

The changes follow February’s introduction of a mandatory new national Motor Vehicle Insurance and Repair Industry Code of Conduct promoting transparent, informed, effective and cooperative relationships between insurers and repairers and includes dispute resolution processes.