Thousands of Australians who think a text message they received about a potential lawsuit is even more spam could actually be in for a small windfall as part of a class action against Allianz over “worthless” additional insurance packages for motorists.
Eligible Australians are now receiving text messages, emails and letters telling them to register for the class action by July 15.
‘You are a potential class member in the Allianz Class Action. Register by July 15, 2024 to claim money from any preliminary settlement,” the message reads.
“Your notice, showing the products you purchased, is in the PDF below.”
Recipients of the text are also urged to confirm the message is legitimate by searching for the class action online.
The notices will be sent from May 13 to May 27, while the reminders will be sent from June 11 to June 25.
The class action covers any person who purchased a car or motorcycle and sold Allianz or Allianz Life ‘add-on’ insurance products between June 1, 2006 and September 27, 2021.
Hundreds of thousands of Australians could get a small windfall as part of a class action against Allianz over ‘worthless’ additional insurance packages for motorists
The additional insurance products include loan protection insurance, motorcycle insurance, extended motorcycle warranty and tire and wheel insurance.
Law firms Johnson Winter Slattery (JWS) and Maurice Blackburn jointly launched the class action, claiming Allianz “engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct and unconscionable conduct.”
The class action was launched in the Supreme Court of Victoria and hundreds of thousands of Australians are expected to be eligible to make a claim.
A mediation will take place in August and a trial will start in October this year.
It’s unclear how much Aussies could receive from the class action, but it’s estimated they may get a refund for the insurance and any additional interest paid.
“The actual amount of damages payable will depend on the outcome of the case and the circumstances of individual class members, and therefore cannot be reliably predicted,” according to information on Allianz’s website.
The class action covers any person who purchased a car or motorcycle and sold Allianz or Allianz Life ‘add-on’ insurance products between June 1, 2006 and September 27, 2021.
Maurice Blackburn had initially launched his own class action against Allianz in November 2020, before it was consolidated into the current class action with JWS.
At the time, Maurice Blackburn said the class action had sold “thousands of motorists who arranged financing through car dealers various types of worthless Allianz insurance to shamelessly increase profits.”
“Many of these insurance products were excessively expensive and provided no value to customers,” said Maurice Blackburn, lead attorney Andrew Watson, at the time of the first class action.
“The car dealers sold these products when they had no or very little value and not only did they keep quiet about it, but they often added the junk insurance products to loan contracts without their customer’s knowledge.
“If customers knew and understood that they were being charged thousands of dollars for these worthless products, they would have rejected the offer without hesitation.”