Media Release
Lawsuits reflect scale of rip-off insurance policies
29 July 2020
More than half a million Australians who were charged excessive insurance premiums could be eligible to join one of three class actions being launched by Shine Lawyers.
The firm alleges BT, CBA, and AMP sold unsuspecting customers overpriced in-house life, income protection, and TPD cover in practices exposed by the Hayne Royal Commission.
Class Actions Practice Leader, Craig Allsopp, said they did this despite knowing there were equivalent or better policies with lower premiums available through other insurers.
“We argue all three financial services providers behaved in a way that was unfair and illegal,” Mr Allsopp said.
“The sheer number of people affected by these premium rorts shows we’re not just talking about a few bad apples here but a systemic misconduct in the industry.” Mr Allsopp said class actions were the best way for customers to get their money back because there is strength in numbers. “The amount of money customers lost varies from a couple of hundred to several thousand dollars, so running individual legal claims won’t be viable in every case,” he said. “The reality is, without class actions supported by litigation funders, most victims would likely never get their money back.” Anyone who holds or previously held one of the following policies should contact Shine:
An AMP Flexible Lifetime Policy provided through financial advisers appointed by AMP Financial Planning (AMPFP), Charter Financial Planning (Charter) or Hillross Financial Services (Hillross).
A BT Super for Life, BT Super for Life Westpac Group, BT SuperWrap, BT SuperWrap Essentials, BT Panorama Super, or BT Superannuation Invest Fund plan between 2014 and 2020.
A CommInsure life or income protection insurance policy provided through financial advisers appointed by Commonwealth Financial Planning Limited, Financial Wisdom Limited, Count Financial Limited or BW Financial Advice.
Click on one of the links below to find out more or register for the class actions:
