The background and changes made by the Act can be found in our earlier articles here, here, and here. Only a few changes have been made to the previous version reported back from the Select Committee, with those changes mostly in respect of definitions around new provisions relating to genetic testing.
While no time has yet been specified for the Act to come into force, it is expected that the industry will be given time to implement changes necessary to comply with the Act, as the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment has previously recognised that implementation will be a significant one-off exercise for the industry.
As we have previously noted, further work will also be required prior to the Act coming into force for any regulations required to support the Act. This includes any regulations made in relation to the form and presentation of consumer insurance contracts, which it has been said will be developed in consultation with the insurance industry and other stakeholders.
If you have any questions about the matters raised in this article, please get in touch with the contacts listed or your usual Bell Gully adviser.