In January 2005 the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) launched a National Claims and Policies Database (NCPD) for public and products liability and professional indemnity insurance.

The Database will provide insurers, the community and the government with a better understanding of public and products liability and professional indemnity insurance. It will help make public and product liability and professional indemnity insurance products more affordable and available by:

• providing insurers with detailed information to help them assess risks and determine appropriate premiums for these insurance products; and

• helping insurers develop or enhance the products available to policyholders in the future.

It will also enable the government, the community and insurers to identify trends and implement changes to reduce the number of claims or lower the cost of claims for public and product liability and professional indemnity.

The Database was created by APRA at the request of the Federal Government.

A number of organisations contribute to the NCPD to ensure that it provides comprehensive information about public and product liability and professional indemnity insurance.

All APRA-regulated insurers that provide these types of insurance policies are required to contribute claims and policies data to the NCPD. Other organisations, such as state and territory insurers, will also submit data to the NCPD. The first data collection occurred in early 2005 and included claims and policies data for the period from 1 January 2003 to 31 December 2004.