adele ferguson

Insurance giant QBE has faced a dressing down in the Federal Court, as it battles to defend its treatment of small businesses during the COVID-pandemic.

It has been accused of undermining a court direction, in a class action involving companies that had paid for "business interruption insurance" to protect them against the impact of COVID-19. QBE has been ordered to send tens of thousands of letters to customers alerting them to the class action.

Guest: Adele Ferguson, ABC Investigative Reporter

The summer of natural disasters has put the focus on Australian insurers, as communities smashed by floods, fires, and cyclones try to rebuild.

But those efforts come amid a 50 per cent increase in complaints about insurance companies, with the dissatisfaction stretching well beyond natural disasters.

When the Commonwealth Bank was hauled before a Royal Commission back in 2018 it had already tried every trick in the book to try and discredit its critics. 

From collecting dirt files to harassing journalists, it did everything it could to try and stop the truth about how it was treating its customers from getting out. 

But thanks to a few dogged former employees, the bank’s practices were exposed. 

Whistleblowers back then and today face risks with little protection from the law. 

Today, the reporter behind the story, investigative journalist Adele Ferguson, on how the Commonwealth Bank was caught out and why there are mounting calls for whistleblower laws to be strengthened. 

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Adele Ferguson, ABC investigative reporter

How can we call the banks to account?