Page 202 - Be Reasonable – Do It My Way , Peter E. Daly AM, My Story

CHAPTER 19 - CONSUMER INTERESTS - THE 1990’S A PERIOD OF MASSIVE CHANGE
The Claims Review Panel. Left to right:
Judith Cohen, Brendan Pentony and Harold Levick.
The Panel also had significant problems with insurers in those days and engaged directly with them to explain the Panel’s deliberations and the adequacy or inadequacy of insurance claims processes. They took the position that it was simply not good enough for an insurance company to assert fraud or to issue a denial without supplying evidence to support their position. The Panel therefore became an education body, educating insurers.
This followed the terms of reference which said “ in arriving at its determination, the Panel shall have regard to what is fair and reasonable in all the circumstances; it must also have regard to good insurance practice, the terms of the policy and establish legal principle”.
In the early days I used to meet with Judith at the end of most working days. I learnt one particular significant thing from Judith which was to not accept what people tell you at face value, whether it was insurers or consumers, as there is always another side to the story. You need to listen to everyone’s point of view and only then form an opinion. Judith looked at things differently. I should also mention that she was a great champion for women. She was a founding member of the Women Lawyers Association of New South Wales in 1952 and on the Commission was involved in many significant decisions including the first Federal nurses award and the introduction of maternity and later parental leave into Federal awards.
202