Labor will demand the corporate watchdog release the names of the life insurance company knocking back up to a third of total and permanent disability claims made by its customers.
A report into the life insurance sector by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission on Wednesday revealed the shocking statistics, as well as the fact that several other insurers were knocking back as many as one in four customers for the same claims.
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'Profit first, everything else is second.'
Whistleblower Ben Koh was chief medical officer at CommInsure, until he spoke out...
The regulator declined to name the insurers, saying its data was "not entirely reliable" and instead warned the sector to clean up its act or it will start naming names.
ASIC will front the House of Representatives economics committee on Friday to answer questions about its performance and respond to evidence raised in the banking inquiry last week.
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Labor MP Matt Thistlethwaite said he would use the hearing to demand ASIC hand over the names of life insurers and their "decline" rate.
"We think it's incumbent on the regulator in this area to provide as much information as possible for consumers," he said.
"This report [by ASIC] provides no information at all for consumers about which insurers are performing well and which have rigorous internal processes to ensure they have best outcomes for customers."
Mr Thistlethwaite said the figures contained in the report were "alarming" – particularly the disparity of so-called decline rates in the industry that ranged from 7 per cent to 37 per cent for total and permanent disability (TPD) claims.
"We want to get to the bottom of why there is such a big disparity and what the characteristics of a poor performing company is – and who they are," he said.
Labor will also ask ASIC chairman Greg Medcraft to explain why the regulator has failed to release a full report into CommInsure.
The regulator was ordered to investigate the Commonwealth Bank's insurance arm – and the sector as a whole – following a Four Corners-Fairfax media investigation that revealed the company had been unfairly rejecting claims by seriously injured and terminally ill policyholders.
"We think [the report] is overdue," Mr Thistlethwaite said.
ASIC was able to give only an update on its investigation into CommInsure on Wednesday, saying it had obtained 60,000 documents in relation to the inquiry.
Australia's big three financial regulators will take the stand on Friday to face questions from the committee over their performance.
They will also be asked questions over evidence raised in the inquiry into the big four bank chiefs last week.
ASIC will face the committee first, followed by the Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
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