Heather Loewenthal has become chair of the General Insurance Code Governance Committee.

Ms Loewenthal, who chaired the Australian Compliance Institute from 2020 to 2023, started her three-year term yesterday, taking over from Veronique Ingram, who served for six years.

She was nominated by the Australian Financial Complaints Authority and the Insurance Council for the role overseeing the committee’s independent monitoring of compliance with the General Insurance Code of Practice.

AFCA chief ombudsman and CEO David Locke says Ms Loewenthal “brings a wealth of experience in financial services, governance and compliance, both in Australia and overseas.

“She has worked with regulators, government and industry through major reforms, and understands what it takes to build systems that work in practice.”

Ms Loewenthal developed her legal, risk and compliance skills at law firm Corrs Chambers Westgarth before moving to Westpac.

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After that, she joined ING Australia in 2003 as chief risk officer and general counsel, later becoming global chief compliance officer for ING Group, responsible for more than 50 countries.

Ms Loewenthal returned to Australia in January 2019, joining Deloitte as a partner in the governance, regulation and conduct solutions team.

Mr Locke says the governance committee “plays an important role in helping make sure the code works as intended.

“Heather’s experience will help support high standards across the industry and fair outcomes for consumers.”

He thanked Ms Ingram for her work, saying she leaves a “lasting impact … on accountability and good industry practice across the sector”.

The three-person governance committee also includes a representative each from consumer groups and the industry – currently the Financial Rights Legal Centre’s Julia Davis and former National Insurance Brokers Association CEO Dallas Booth, respectively.