Insurance

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has brought proceedings against insurance company OnePath Life, marking the first time the corporate regulator is seeking financial penalties for an alleged failure to act with utmost good faith during claims handling.

Insurers will file de-classing applications in four class actions on behalf of small businesses seeking coverage under business interruption policies for losses flowing from COVID-19 restrictions after their test cases largely failed. 

Westpac has lost a bid to keep group members in the dark about the premiums paid for allegedly worthless consumer credit insurance, information the bank said could inflate expectations about settlements worth $126 million reached in three class actions.

Medibank faces a representative proceeding over last month's data breach that exposed the sensitive information of millions of customers, as the private health insurer reveals more stolen data was posted online overnight.

Insurer Allianz has lost its bid to claw back millions in performance bonds provided to collapsed building company Probuild in relation to works at a $1 billion development in the Melbourne CBD.

ASIC is seeking $7.5 million in penalties against failed ACBF Funeral Plans and parent company Youpla Group for misrepresenting to customers that it was Indigenous-owned and falsely claiming that its products were specifically beneficial to First Nations people.

A group of Lloyd’s underwriters are off the hook for financial services company EP Financial Services' costs in an lawsuit over allegedly negligent financial advice, after an appeals court found the exclusions under the policy were valid.

Avant Insurance has lost its bid to challenge a ruling which put it on the hook for indemnifying a plastic surgeon in class action proceedings over allegedly botched breast augmentations at a defunct NSW clinic.

Three of the Big Four banks have agreed to pay a total of $126 million to settle class actions on behalf of up to one million customers who were sold consumer credit insurance.

Medibank is facing another class action investigation over a massive data breach that left the personal information of almost 10 million customers exposed, just days after criminals began publishing sensitive customer health data.