The company was fined for failing to disclose restrictions on travel insurance products.
Insurance giant Allianz Australia has been fined millions of dollars for criminally misleading the public about the largest travel policy benefits available to its customers.
Allianz and Travel Insurance expert AWP Australia pleaded guilty in June 2022 to charges related to misrepresenting the nature of a client’s travel insurance between 2016 and 2018.
Corporate regulator ASIC introduced the case to prosecutors after receiving a canvas at the Royal Commission on Banking and Financial Services in 2018.
Allianz appointed AWP as an agent and in 2010 allowed him to develop travel insurance products and related services.
On February 28th, Allianz was fined $13.5 million, and the AWP punished $3.3 million for violations.
Allianz faced a maximum potential penalty of $437 million for each of the six violations, while AWP faced a fine of up to $16 million for one crime.
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New South Wales Supreme Court Judge Stephen Rothman pleaded guilty to the charges, saying the company had fully cooperated with ASIC and police in the investigation.
“Allianz’s actions were disseminating information that was incorrect. It should have been reasonable to know,” he said.
Allianz and AWP were ordered in 2021 to pay a $1.5 million fine for misleading travel insurance sales through the Expedia website.
Allianz did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Friday’s decision.
