Allianz car dealer add-on insurance class action

The Allianz Add-On Insurance Class Action was commenced on behalf of the plaintiffs and persons who purchased one or more of the following Allianz add-on insurance policies between 1 June 2006 and 27 September 2021 at or around the time they purchased a vehicle from a dealership:

1. loan protection insurance;
2. motor equity Insurance (including purchase price insurance and value protect insurance);
3. extended motor warranty insurance; or
4. tyre and rim Insurance.

The class action sought damages to compensate each group member and/or recovery of the amount of the premiums mistakenly paid.

If you are an eligible group member and you registered by 15 July 2024 at 4pm (AEST) you may be eligible to receive compensation under the Court-approved Settlement Distribution Scheme (Scheme).

You are a group member if, at any time between 1 June 2006 and 27 September 2021, you:

1. purchased a motor vehicle or motorcycle (vehicle) from a vehicle dealership;
2. purchased one or more of the following add-on insurance products issued by Allianz, or Allianz and Allianz Life, or offered by Allianz on behalf of OnePath Life Limited at or around the time you purchased the vehicle from the vehicle dealership: 
   • Loan Protection Insurance (also referred to as “repayment insurance”, “consumer credit insurance” or “CCI”);
   • Motor Equity Insurance (also referred to as “guaranteed asset protection insurance”, “GAP insurance”, “shortfall insurance”, “purchase price insurance” or “value protect insurance”);
   • Extended Motor Warranty (also referred to as “mechanical insurance”, “motor vehicle warranty” or “extended warranty insurance”); or
   • Tyre and Rim Insurance; and
3. became liable to pay or paid (directly or indirectly), a premium to either of Allianz, or Allianz and Allianz Life for the add-on insurance product(s).

However, if you did not register by 15 July 2024 at 4pm (AEST), you are not eligible to receive any compensation from the proposed settlement.

A small group of registrants have not been clearly matched to Allianz’s records. These people will be contacted during the early stages of the Administration and asked for more information. If they cannot be matched, they will not be entitled to share in the compensation.

If you registered your interest by the deadline, this does not mean that you are eligible for the class action or that you will necessarily receive compensation.  Group member eligibility will be determined at a later stage and potential compensation amounts depend on a number of factors. During the settlement administration, we will notify registered group members of how much compensation they are eligible to receive, if any.

The Court has approved the following deductions from the settlement sum:

1. legal costs (25% of the settlement sum),
2. reimbursement payments to the two plaintiffs ($30,000 to each plaintiff), and
3. the costs of administering payment of the settlement sum ($4.72 million including GST).

The rest of the settlement sum will be shared proportionately between eligible registered group members, according to the loss assessment formula contained in the Scheme.

A copy of the Scheme approved by the Court is available here, but the loss assessment formula referred to above is confidential and is not shown in this copy. 

We cannot provide an individual estimate of compensation amounts at this stage, and individual registered group members are not guaranteed to receive compensation from the settlement sum.

Compensation amounts will depend on a range of factors including individual circumstances, such as the price of your policy and when you purchased it.

It is harder to succeed on legal claims applying to some policies, in particular policies purchased before 7 July 2014, and so a greater reduction will be applied to those claims.

We are not yet able to advise anyone of individual compensation amounts or estimates and we cannot give further information at this time. We will be in contact regarding this during the settlement administration.

For the eligible group members who are entitled to share in the compensation, we are not yet able to confirm the amount that each eligible group member will be paid. However, based on preliminary estimates undertaken, and noting that such estimates are prior to approval of the settlement and the Scheme, average payments may range from approximately $80 - $4,000, with an average payment of approximately $585. Some eligible group members will receive less than the average amount, and some eligible group members will receive more than the average amount.

We cannot provide any individual compensation estimates at this stage. Please be aware that eligible group members are not guaranteed to receive compensation from the Settlement Sum, as this will depend on individual circumstances.

We ask that you do not call our team to ask for an estimate of your compensation as we cannot give one at this time.

Eligible group members will not receive the full value of their claims under the Scheme.

The settlement is a compromise, and takes into account the risk the class action might lose, as well as the benefit to group members in receiving money now rather than later.

Most people who registered claims in the class action are eligible registered group members and will be entitled to receive a share of the compensation from the Settlement Sum.

Some eligible group members will not be entitled to receive a share of the compensation from the Settlement Sum, either because their loss is $0 after applying the loss assessment formula; or after the loss assessment formula is applied to their claim data, the pro-rata allocation of the Settlement Sum means that their allocation is less than the ‘Minimum Distribution Amount’, which is $30.

Under the Scheme, the claim data (being the information obtained from Allianz about the products purchased by each eligible group member) is treated as final and binding. This means that eligible group members are unable to review their claim data. In very limited circumstances, an eligible group member may be able to request an amendment to their claim data – whether or not the amendment is accepted is at the discretion of the scheme administrator.

Under the Scheme, the loss assessments and pro-rata distribution based on the loss assessments are final and binding, as they are calculated using a mathematical formula (which was approved by the Court) based on the claim data. This means that eligible group members are unable to review their loss assessment. In very limited circumstances, the scheme administrator may exercise its discretion and vary an assessment or distribution amount in the unlikely event that an abject error is identified.