Case 37: Insurance policy excluding claims for mental illness incompatible with right to equality

Photo of Will Ingram, and Melanie Schleiger from Victoria Legal Aid. Photo by Sam Biddle

Will Ingram purchased travel insurance in 2011 for an overseas study trip planned for 2012. In early 2012, he was diagnosed with a depressive illness and cancelled the trip on medical advice. The insurer denied Mr Ingram’s claim for cancellation costs on the basis that a clause in the policy excluded claims caused by a mental illness. The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal considered Mr Ingram’s claim and found that the insurer discriminated against him on the basis of a disability, breaching the Equal Opportunity Act. The Tribunal considered that an interpretation of a ‘disability’ in the Equal Opportunity Act compatible with the right to equality in the Charter includes ‘a disability that may exist in the future’. This case is an example of the Charter encouraging a human rights interpretation of legislation.

Sources: 2015 Report on the Operation of the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities, p. 13; Ingram v QBE Insurance (Human Rights) [2015] VCAT 1936. See our case summary here: https://www.hrlc.org.au/human-rights-case-summaries/blanket-mental-health-exclusion-clause-in-travel-insurance-policy-amounted-to-unlawful-discrimination