Join our daily newsletter At The Bell to receive exclusive market insights
- The Federal Court has fined two local units of German insurer Allianz SE for misleading and deceptive conduct when selling travel insurance
- Allianz Australia and AWP Australia were handed penalties totalling $1.5 million in a civil case brought by ASIC in September last year
- Ineligible customers were sold travel insurance and Allianz failed to properly disclose how it calculated premiums on Expedia websites
- AWP was ordered to pay $1.14 million and Allianz $360,000 — both have also been ordered to pay ASIC’s costs
The Federal Court has fined local units of Allianz SE for selling travel insurance to ineligible customers and not properly disclosing how it calculated premiums on Expedia websites.
According to the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC), the two units were handed penalties totalling $1.5 million in a civil case brought by the corporate watchdog in September last year.
The units, Allianz Australia and AWP Australia, committed $10 million in October last year to compensate around 31,500 customers who were sold potentially incorrect travel insurance through Allianz’s own website and Expedia, the Seattle-based online travel company.
Allianz Australia issued the insurance while AWP handled its sale.
“The community expects that the insurance industry will promote and sell products in a transparent way. People take out travel insurance for peace of mind and to protect their families,” ASIC Deputy Chair Sarah Court said.
“The value of an insurance policy is in the promise — that a consumer can feel confident and secure that they will be looked after if something goes wrong.”
The two units also face separate criminal charges for allegedly making inaccurate statements between 2016 and 2018 when selling both domestic and international travel insurance.
AWP was ordered to pay $1.14 million and Allianz $360,000 — both have also been ordered to pay ASIC’s costs.
