October 2023
The Auckland High Court has ordered Vero Insurance New Zealand Limited to pay a penalty of $3.9 million for failing to apply multi-policy discounts to customers, following proceedings brought by the FMA.
Vero admitted it breached section 22, one of the Fair Dealing provisions of the Financial Markets Conduct Act (FMC Act), by not applying multi-policy discounts to some customers who were entitled to them.
The false and/or misleading statements were made in periodic invoices issued to affected customers in relation to house and contents, vehicle and boat insurance. Multi-policy discounts apply when a customer has more than one risk or cover insured under one policy, or under multiple policies.
Between April 2014 and May 2022* Vero and its intermediaries issued the invoices to approximately 42,000 affected customers and effectively overcharged $9.9 million in premiums because of the issue.
Vero failed to apply the discounts due to errors and deficiencies in its systems, including data entry errors by Vero employees and some intermediaries (which sold the policies on behalf of Vero). Liability primarily rests with Vero as it designed, owned and maintained the systems at fault. It was accepted by Vero that, pursuant to section 536 of the FMC Act, the conduct of intermediaries that were acting on behalf of Vero in issuing affected invoices is treated as conduct that is also engaged in by Vero.
Vero reported the issue to the FMA in December 2019, at which time its remediation programme had been underway for some months. However, Vero had not fully reviewed all affected intermediary channels, so the FMA requested the insurer undertake a full investigation and remediation plan. Vero subsequently discovered an even greater number of affected customers.
Vero has reimbursed $13.97 million in overcharges to affected policyholders. Vero has also paid $95,845 to charities where affected customers could not be reached or did not respond to contact from Vero.
October 2022
FMA filed High Court proceedings against Vero Insurance New Zealand Limited for failing to apply multi-policy discounts, which led to affected customers being overcharged approximately $8.7 million in premiums.
The FMA claims Vero contravened the fair dealing provisions of the Financial Markets Conduct (FMC) Act by incorrectly stating the premiums owed by customers who were entitled to the discounts. The false and/or misleading statements were made in periodic invoices issued to affected customers in relation to house and contents, vehicle and boat insurance. Multi-policy discounts apply when a customer has more than one risk or cover insured under one policy, or under multiple policies.
The FMA alleges between April 2014 and May 2022¹ Vero and its intermediaries issued the invoices to approximately 47,000 affected customers and effectively overcharged $8.7 million in premiums as a result of the issue.
The FMA claims Vero failed to apply the discounts due to errors and deficiencies in its systems, including data entry errors by Vero employees and some intermediaries (which sold the policies on behalf of Vero). The FMA alleges that liability primarily rests with Vero as it designed, owned and maintained the systems at fault.
Vero reported the issue to the FMA in December 2019, at which time its remediation programme had been underway for some months. However, Vero had not fully reviewed all affected intermediary channels, so the FMA requested the insurer to undertake a full investigation and remediation plan. Vero subsequently discovered an even greater number of affected customers.
The FMA understands Vero has reimbursed $10,259,000 in overcharges to affected policyholders.
The FMA acknowledges that Vero has been cooperative with the regulator through its investigation since disclosing the issue.
The FMA is seeking a declaration that Vero contravened the FMC Act and a pecuniary penalty. The proceedings were filed in the Auckland High Court.
Vero is part of the Suncorp Group.
