Australia’s life insurance companies have announced the formation of a dedicated industry peak body. The Council of Australian Life Insurers (CALI) will launch later this year.

“Given the changing landscape in both regulation and structure, as an industry, we believe the time is right to form a dedicated peak body to focus solely on matters affecting the life insurance industry and its customers,” said a CALI spokesperson.

A media release said CALI will be the collective voice of the industry with a focus on meeting the needs and expectations of customers, partners, stakeholders and the community.

“Life insurance plays an essential role in Australia’s community and economy and it is important that it remains accessible and sustainable for all Australians into the future,” said the spokesperson.

The media release said that the Financial Services Council (FSC) has played a “critical role” in representing the life insurance industry and was instrumental in key initiatives including the Life Insurance Code of Practice (LICOP).

The CALI spokesperson said that the new industry body will be seeking to take over future responsibility of the LICOP as part of transition arrangements with the FSC.

“Through CALI we intend to strengthen our engagement and relationships with our stakeholders, including consumers, their representatives, policymakers and regulators to ensure we deeply understand their views,” added the spokesperson.

The media release said recruitment is under way for a CEO and staff.