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Carter Capner Lawyers and QCOSS educating the community insurance

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - 14 September 2004
CONTACT - Ian Brown on 3210 3412 or 0422 444 673

Carter Capner Lawyers have been travelling throughout Queensland over the past few months in an effort to ease the burden of the insurance crisis on the community by educating non-profits and community groups through free seminars on insurance.

As a member of the QCOSS Insurance Taskforce, Carter Capner partner, Ian Brown, noticed that there was a significant need among the non-profit sector for information on how insurance works, the different types insurance available for the sector, the effects of government legislation on insurance and basic guidelines on risk management.

"We noticed that there was a great deal of confusion throughout the non-profit sector on how insurance works so we decided to do our part and educate the community on issues of insurance in an attempt to ease the burden of insurance company profiteering on this particularly vulnerable sector," Mr Brown said.

"The non-profit and community sector has been the victim of a politically motivated assault orchestrated by the insurance industry.

"The welfare and community sector has the lowest claims rates in Australia, less than half that of licensed clubs and significantly lower than supermarkets and hotels and yet the insurance industry has imposed upon the sector the highest premium hikes of any insured group.

"Community life in Queensland is suffering with many organisations forced to drastically cut services or close their doors altogether while insurers reap the benefits of their unjust assault with record profits of hundreds of millions of dollars," Mr Brown said.

Carter Capner Lawyers and QCOSS realised the non-profit and community sector was in urgent need of education on insurance matters while the political debate continued over how to tackle the insurance crisis and its debilitating affect on community life.

Concerned Queenslanders have been invited to log-on to the Carter Capner website and use the Take the Law into Your Own Hands initiative to send an email to the Queensland Premier and Treasurer outlining their concerns on the insurance crisis as well as calling for a public inquiry into its impact upon the community.

In addition, concerned citizens are invited to access the Parliament House website on Wednesday, September 15 and sign an e-petition calling for a public inquiry into the community impact of the insurance crisis.

To send an email to the Treasurer and Premier, simply go to cartercapner.com.au and click on the Take the Law into Your Own Hands icon and follow the prompts.

To vote on the e-petition go to www.parliament.qld.gov.au and press the e-petition button.

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