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QBE admits pricing promises ‘not fully delivered’

NCR QBE's Andrew Horton

QBE announced that it is setting aside $US75 million ($110 million) in provision for a customer remediation program after an internal review found “instances” where pricing promises were not “fully delivered” to policyholders.

The insurer says it will record the pre-tax provision, to cover also for interest payable and costs for administering the program, in its first-half financial results for the six months to June and will provide further details and an update on the matter when its June half results are released in August.

QBE carried out the review after ASIC called on all general insurers to examine their pricing systems and controls to prevent consumer harm as a “matter of priority”. ASIC made the call in October last year after launching Federal Court action against IAG over its failure to honour customer discount promises.

The regulator says it wrote directly to QBE last October setting out its requirements and expectations for conducting the review and has been monitoring the review’s subsequent progress.

“QBE is continuing its review process and will work with ASIC, as required, to ensure affected customers are remediated as quickly as possible,” the insurer said in a market release to the ASX.

QBE Group CEO Andrew Horton said: “We are disappointed by the findings of the review and apologise to those of our customers who have been impacted.”

According to ASIC, general insurers have reported a significant number of breaches or potential breaches and remediated thousands of customers in relation to failures to honour price discounts promised to customers since January 2018. More than $400 million in remediation has been paid to over two million home, car, and other insurance customers since 2018.

This article courtesy of insuranceNews. Check out the website at: https://www.insurancenews.com.au/.

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