The new Allianz research, which was released last week in time for the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, revealed that 79% of surveyed car owners said they cannot imagine a life without their car – with 91% saying knowing their car is available in an emergency is reassuring.
Concerningly, 72% of the respondents were unaware of the DFV risks associated with a joint car insurance policy, however.
In Australia, nearly two in five car owners jointly own their car, usually with their partner or spouse (87%).
According to Allianz’s latest research, car owners deemed isolating (48%), assaulting (32%), and intimidating victims (16%) the most common tactics in DFV situations.
Only 5% of the surveyed car owners saw a car as a means of economic and other abuse as the most common tactic. Many respondents were unaware that removing a victim’s name from a joint policy (59%), cancelling a joint policy without consent (57%), refusing to service the car or make necessary repairs (51%), and draining the petrol from a car (51%) are common car-related tactics in DFV situations.
“Australians feel comfortable and safe in their cars. It also gives them a sense of freedom. It is alarming that this safe space can be used to make people feel the exact opposite. We’ve continued our partnership with the GVRN at UNSW Sydney to ensure that we are supporting our customers in the best way possible and driving awareness of this important issue within the community,” said Sema Whittle, general manager, corporate governance and sustainability, at Allianz.
Professor Jan Breckenridge, co-convenor of GVRN, commented: “It is concerning to see how DFV is continuing to affect Australians and the community we live in. Now more than ever, it is imperative that we continue to educate ourselves and learn about the risks that victims in these situations can face, especially to help support loved ones that may be going through it currently.”
Allianz’s family violence policy is designed to help customers in DFV situations. It enables the insurer to provide customers in need with a specialist case manager and sensitive claims handling. For joint policies, Allianz will outline the rights of customers in need under their policy and help them set up a new policy.
To further help people in DFV situations, Allianz will implement several changes recommended as part of the UNSW research, including adding the “conduct of other” clause in all product disclosure statements from December 3, 2023. It will also pay claims for some circumstances that arise from a wrongful act by a family member – such as DFV or mental illness that would otherwise trigger an exclusion and denial of the claim – when the cover has been varied or terminated with malicious intent.
Allianz will also launch a DFV officer network to support employees in DFV situations and who would like to seek support in a confidential way. It will also release a new e-learning module – created in partnership with GVRN – a DFV employee and leader guide, and paid leave for victim survivors.
“Our approach reflects the expectations Australians have of insurance companies to support customers – and our employees – who are victim-survivors in domestic and family violence situations. Our support includes assisting victim-survivors in creating a new policy separate to the perpetrator, considering all circumstances that led to the claim, and applying additional protections for the policy. We’re also making several changes to our processes recommended in the UNSW report to better support our vulnerable customers as well as our people,” Whittle said.
