NSW government will take back control of Green Slip scheme if insurers ignore reforms

BETTER Regulation Minister Victor Dominello will threaten insurers that the state government will take back control of the Green Slip scheme if they do not sign up to his reforms.

Ryde Liberal MP Victor Dominello with the Meadowbank Wharf which will be upgraded with State Government funding.

BETTER Regulation Minister Victor Dominello will threaten insurers that the state government will take back control of the Green Slip scheme if they do not sign up to his reforms.

Mr Dominello will today release his options paper on his proposed compulsory third party insurance reforms, foreshadowed by The Daily Telegraph, with the government arguing the current scheme, in operation since 1999, is now the least affordable in the nation. Green slip premiums have risen 70 per cent since 2008.

The reform options range from a minimalist cracking down on fraud, a key contributor to premium rises, and tighter rules on insurers, to the minister’s preferred option of a no-fault “defined benefits scheme” in which payouts would be set, except for the most serious cases which could still be fought in the courts if need be. There is also a “nuclear” option taking courts and lawyers out of the scheme altogether, with all injury classifications to have a predetermined payment.

The paper points out that, thanks to insurer and lawyer profits, injured victims receive just 45 per cent of the money spent on green slip premiums each year.

“Most NSW motorists now pay about $600 or more for their green slip and without reform of the scheme premiums are forecast to increase by a further 10 to 20 per cent over the coming year,” Mr Dominello said.

“The scheme has become inefficient and unsustainable.”

In a veiled threat to insurers to play ball with the reforms, the options paper raises the question of if the government should leave the scheme in private hands or “return to public underwriting delivery”.

The Insurance Council tentatively welcomed the proposals last night, saying it looked forward to “ contributing to the discussion around CTP reform and finding ways to make the scheme fairer, more affordable and more sustainable”.

Law Society president Gary Ulman agreed the scheme must be affordable and accessible: “Such a scheme must only be accessible by those who are in genuine need.”