Invest
Misleading travel insurance claims fly Allianz into trouble
The corporate regulator has revealed that it is taking Allianz Australia’s insurance arm to court for the misleading sale of travel insurance through Expedia websites.
Misleading travel insurance claims fly Allianz into trouble
The corporate regulator has revealed that it is taking Allianz Australia’s insurance arm to court for the misleading sale of travel insurance through Expedia websites.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has commenced civil penalty proceedings in the Federal Court against Allianz Australia Insurance Ltd and its related party AWP Australia Pty Ltd.
AWP is responsible for the development and sale of the travel insurance products as issued by Allianz, with both organisations, Allianz and AWP, owned by the same parent company, Allianz SE.
ASIC argues the insurance companies breached the Corporations Act and the ASIC Act by engaging in misleading and deceptive conduct and not fulfilling general licence obligations.
According to ASIC, between February 2015 and September 2018, Allianz failed to correctly disclose the basis upon which premiums were calculated in product disclosure statements made available on three of Expedia’s websites.
Allianz and AWP are also alleged to have allowed the sale of insurance to customers who were ineligible to make claims under the policies, and allowed the Expedia websites to misuse a quote from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade “about the importance of purchasing travel insurance”.
The regulator is seeking declarations of wrongdoing as well as monetary penalties against both Allianz and AWP.
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