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Colonial First State Super Insurance Class Action

Is your superannuation with Colonial First State Investments Limited? You may have been unfairly overcharged and be entitled to financial compensation. Find out how to join our Colonial First State Super Insurance Class Action.

What is the Colonial First State Super Insurance Class Action about?

On 22 January 2020, Shine Lawyers commenced a class action against Colonial First State Investments Limited (CFSIL) and Colonial Mutual Life Assurance Society Limited (CommInsure) to obtain compensation for persons who were overcharged for their life insurance policies (for death, total and permanent disability, and income protection cover) which they held inside their CFSIL superannuation fund.

On 22 October 2021, AIA Australia Limited (AIAA) were joined as an additional Respondent to the proceedings. This occurred because AIAA acquired ownership of CommInsure’s life insurance business on 1 April 2021.

The class action alleges that:

  • CFSIL, the trustee of the superannuation funds, owed a duty to act in the best interests of its members and to not improperly use its position to gain an advantage for itself and/or for CommInsure.
  • CFSIL breached its duties by obtaining group insurance (namely, CommInsure’s group insurance) with excessive premiums, when there were other available insurance products that were substantially equivalent or better and had lower/cheaper premiums.
  • CommInsure knew or ought to have known of the existence of the trustee duties CFSIL owed to its members and that it knowingly took receipt of profits of the excess premiums.

Can I join the Colonial First State Super Insurance Class Action?

You may be entitled to compensation as a member of the Colonial First State Super Insurance Class Action if:

You have been a member of at least one of the following superannuation funds:
  • FirstChoice Personal Super and Pension;
  • FirstChoice Wholesale Personal Super and Pension;
  • FirstChoice Employer Super; or
  • Commonwealth Essential Super.
  • You must have held life, TPD and/or income protection insurance issued by CommInsure through your superannuation in the period between January 2014 and January 2020.

If you answered yes to the above, you may be entitled to compensation, and you are encouraged to register for the Colonial First State Super Insurance Class Action.

How to register for the Colonial First State Super Insurance Class Action

If you would like to register for the Colonial First State Super Insurance Class Action, please click the 'Register Now' button below and fill out the registration form.

Sign up for the class action

Register now

If you have any questions or require any assistance in registering for the class action, please contact our Colonial First State Super Insurance Class Action team on 1800 325 172.

Case Documents

Colonial First State Group Insurance Class Action Amended Originating Application SealedColonial First State Group Insurance Class Action Amended Statement of Claim Sealed

Who is Shine Lawyers’ Class Action Team?

Shine Lawyers’ Class Action Team includes some of the firm’s most experienced solicitors and support staff. The team includes:

Rebecca Jancauskas profile
Rebecca Jancauskas
Sarah Thomson profile
Sarah Thomson
Max Russ profile
Max Russ

Common Questions

The legal fees are being paid by litigation funder Woodsford Litigation Funding Limited.

Group members will have no liability for legal costs if the class action is unsuccessful.

Woodsford Litigation Funding Limited has also agreed to meet any adverse costs order, in the event the proceedings are unsuccessful. In that case, neither the lead applicant nor any group members will have liability for costs.

It is usually the case in Australia that if a party is successful, part of the costs and disbursements will be paid to them by the unsuccessful party. If the class action is successful and a judgment of damages is awarded to the group members, the costs and fees paid by the funder in order to bring the proceedings to a successful outcome will be deducted from the amount of damages received from the defendants. The final legal costs will depend on the amount of work required to resolve the claim.

In return for funding the action, the litigation funder expects to receive a percentage of the total damages awarded. The funder’s fee varies depending upon the stage at which the proceeding resolves and the amount of their investment in running the action.

It is impossible at this stage to provide any specific figure that each group member can expect to receive. This is due to a variety of factors.

The amount each group member will receive will depend on the premiums they have paid for their insurance for the period they held that insurance.

Due to the size of each individual claim, the costs of running this action as an individual would quickly exceed the potential damages recoverable.

As each class member’s claim involves many common questions of fact and law, running this action as a class reduces the average cost of litigation to a client by only addressing the common issues once at trial, instead of multiple times.

The Shine Lawyers Class Action team is led by National Special Counsel Jan Saddler, a solicitor with more than 25 years’ experience running large and complex legal disputes in Australia and England.

Jan has worked for one of the largest commercial law firms in Australia, where she was involved in a number of class actions and multi-party disputes. She has also worked at one of the largest global professional services firms, as an in-house lawyer running and managing disputes involving claims worth more than $250 million.

Colonial First State Super Insurance Class Action is led by Rebecca Jancauskas, Practice Leader with Shine Lawyers' Class Actions department. She has represented Australians who have suffered harm and loss as a result of defective products, environmental damage, financial mismanagement and human rights abuses and has secured settlements in a number of the high profile class actions she has run.

Click here for more information on Shine Lawyers' Class Action expertise.