Without admitting liability, Westpac Group has agreed to settle the insurance class action put forward by Shine Lawyers in October 2017.
The Federal Court case centred on policies issued by Westpac Life Insurance Services on the recommendation of financial advisers at Westpac, St.George Bank, Bank of Melbourne, BankSA, or BT Advice.
Shine Lawyers alleged that since at least February 2011, customers who relied on those financial advisers and took out a Westpac Life insurance policy were not informed that they could obtain substantially similar or better policies from alternative insurers at a lower price.
Also, policyholders were said to have been charged higher premiums than those who purchased the same Westpac Life coverage on the recommendation of independent financial advisers.
When the class action was initiated, Shine Lawyers said up to 80,000 Australians were expected to have been negatively impacted and should be compensated.
In an ASX filing today, Westpac said: “The settlement is capped at $30 million and remains subject to approval by the Federal Court of Australia. The group has resolved this matter without any admission of liability.”
No further details were provided.
