The Life Insurance Code of Practice, explained

The ten promises

Near its start, the Code sets out a service promise: ten commitments made by subscribers, in CALI’s words.

We will be honest, fair, respectful, transparent and timely when we communicate with you, and we will use Plain Language unless medical or other technical terminology is needed.
We will ensure our staff and Authorised representatives use appropriate sales and retention practices.
We will offer extra support if you have trouble with the process of buying insurance or claiming.
If we find that a sale was made using unacceptable sales practices, we will fix it, for example by issuing a refund or replacement policy.
When you make a claim, we will explain the process and keep you informed about our progress assessing it.
We will decide on your claim within the Life Code’s timeframes. But if we cannot, we will explain why and tell you how to make a Complaint.
If we decline your claim, we will explain why in writing and let you know what to do if you disagree.
We will restrict the use of investigators and Surveillance to preserve your right to privacy.
The independent Life Code Compliance Committee (Life CCC) will monitor our compliance with the Life Code.
We will be accountable for Life Code requirements, and the Life CCC can sanction us.

Underneath the promises sit seven principles that apply to everything the Code covers:

clarity
transparency
fairness
respect
honesty
timeliness
plain language

What it covers, and what it doesn’t

Scope of the Code, clauses 1.7, 1.8 and 1.10.
Covered	Not covered
Term life, or death and terminal illness insurance	Whole-of-life and endowment products
Total and permanent disability (TPD) insurance	Products issued by general insurers
Trauma or critical illness insurance	Health insurance issued by health insurers
Disability, income protection or salary continuance insurance	Annuities and investment life products
Business expenses insurance; funeral insurance; consumer credit insurance issued by a life insurer	Super fund trustees, financial advice businesses and advisers, unless they have adopted the Code

The Code binds CALI members that issue life insurance policies, and any other industry body that formally agrees with CALI and the Life CCC to adopt it. Insurers that subscribe make sure their staff and authorised representatives keep to it when acting for them. CALI publishes the current list of subscribers on its Life Code page.

Where the Code meets you

The Code reaches into each stage of a policy. A few of the places, with the clause to look up:

Selected clauses from the Life Insurance Code of Practice, effective 1 March 2025.
Moment	What the Code says	Clause
Buying	A cooling-off period of at least 30 calendar days from the day the policy is issued, with a full refund if you change your mind, unless the duration of cover is designed to be 3 months or less. The buying clauses apply only if the insurer underwrote your application.	4.28; definitions
Each year	A written notice before each policy anniversary: your cover, any premium increase explained, how to claim, and the risks of cancelling and replacing.	3.10
Claiming	A decision within 2 months for income-related claims and 6 months for lump sum claims (subject to exceptions), counted from the Claim Received Date or, if later, the end of the waiting period, with updates at least every 20 Business Days.	5.6, 5.48, 5.49
Hard times	Flexible options to help you keep cover if you can’t afford premiums because of financial hardship.	6.18
Needing support	An interpreter arranged and paid for if you need one, and support people recognised in all reasonable ways.	6.13
Complaining	A final written response within 30 calendar days, unless a super trustee owns the policy.	7.13

Each of these has its own ring in this guide: cancelling, changing or replacing, reviewing cover, making a claim and complaints.

The Code also recognises that some customers experience vulnerability, naming circumstances such as age, disability, mental health conditions, language barriers, remote location, family violence and financial distress, and commits insurers to taking extra care. It notes that an insurer may not be able to identify some of these unless you tell it.

Who holds insurers to it

The Life Code Compliance Committee is made up of an independent chair, a consumer representative and an industry representative. It monitors compliance, publishes an annual report of de-identified analysis, and is the only body that can decide whether the Code has been breached.

Anyone, including a customer, can report an alleged breach to the Life CCC. It may investigate, decide whether there was a breach, agree corrective action with the insurer, or decide the matter should go through the insurer’s own complaints process and refer you there. Reports go through the Life CCC’s report-an-issue page, linked from CALI’s Life Code page.

For a significant breach, sanctions can include a formal warning, an audit, corrective advertising, writing to affected customers, publishing the non-compliance, being publicly named, and a community benefit payment of up to $100,000 to a charity.

What the Code is not

Not a law. It does not limit your rights under existing laws, and where it conflicts with a law, the law prevails.
Not something to sue on. The Code says none of its provisions can be the subject of proceedings in a court or tribunal, and it creates rights only between the bodies bound by it and CALI.
Not irrelevant to a complaint, though. External dispute resolution bodies such as AFCA may consider whether an insurer met its Code obligations when they decide disputes.

The Code also restates the principle at the base of every insurance contract: utmost good faith, which requires both insurer and customer to act honestly and fairly towards each other.

A Code that changes