20 January 2017 Mr Christian Mikula Senior Specialist Deposit Takers
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IAG.502.018.4705 •1a 20 January 2017 Mr Christian Mikula Senior Specialist Deposit Takers, Credit & Insurers Australian Securities and Investments Commission Level 5, 100 Market Street Sydney NSW 2000 Dear Mr Mikula, ASIC REVIEW OF ADD-ON INSURANCE PRODUCTS We refer to your letter of 21 November 2016 (ASIC's November letter). We note that the purpose of ASIC's November letter is to set out ASIC's views on what it considers should be the appropriate nature and scope of remediation by Swann. Our responses to the issues raised in ASIC's November letter are set out below. The additional information requested is attached as Annexure A. 1. Authorised Representatives (AR) Swann and IAG regard any circumstance where an AR has engaged in unfair sales conduct, including in relation to its add-on insurance products, as totally unacceptable and will continue to fully investigate and address any such cases in terms of both consumer remediation and consequences for ARs involved. Swann acknowledges and accepts the need for an appropriate remediation program where mis-selling has been shown to have occurred, however it remains unclear to Swann what remediation ASIC would consider appropriate, and Swann welcomes the opportunity to discuss this further with ASIC. Below are our responses in relation to each of the ARs identified by ASIC. a) was a finance broker that was a Corporate Authorised Representative (CAR) of Swann. The effective date of the authorisation with Swann was 4 November 2009 and the authorisation was terminated on 11 July 2013. The following Swann products were sold b • Gap; • Loan Protection Insurance; • Business Use Loan Protection Insurance; • Tyre & Rim ; • Motor Cycle Comprehensive; and • Motor Vehicle Comprehensive. Level 26, 388 George Street, Sydney NSW 2000 Insurance Australia Group Limited ABN 60 090 739 923 IAG.502.018.4706 i) AS/C's comments in relation to 'guarantor swaps' As the 'guarantor swap' issue relates to the application to Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited (ANZ) for the credit contract to which Swann was not a party, Swann is unable to comment on this aspect. Swann is of course willing to discuss this with ASIC and answer any questions directed to Swann to assist ASIC in its investigation. ii) AS/C's concerns relating to quotes and loan approval ~3 of ASIC's November letter, quote numbers & ~re raised as examples of where ASIC considers- staff engaged in unfair practices motivated by the need to ~ application was approved. In both instances, quotes were only generated and the quotes were not converted to new business policies and were not identified or activated as current policies on Swann's systems. The purpose of a quote being generated is to provide consumers with an estimate of premium costs as part of any decision making before a consumer decides whether to purchase a policy. A consumer may or may not accept a quote based on their consideration of the estimated premium and other factors addressed in a quote (for example, level of cover). Swann is unable to comment on ANZ's requirements in respect of its loan applications, or the practices or the motivations of ANZ's agents when submitting loan applications to ANZ, save that it appears that at no time did the loan application process require documented confirmation that a policy had been issued to a consumer. iii) AS/C's concerns relating to sales practices The Swann sales process for ARs is set out in Chapter 12 of the Swann General Advice Training manual (a copy of which is attached as Annexure B). The sales process does not include a defined sales script or requirement that the pricing of all possible options of a product to be disclosed to a consumer. As ASIC is aware, there is no current legal requirement for all options to be disclosed to a consumer and Swann is concerned that providing all options to a consumer may in fact cause confusion. Swann does not agree that ASIC's inferences are supported by the data previously provided, however Swann does acknowledge that in a small percentage of cases involving -as identified by Swann in its letter to ASIC of 12 Septemb~ consumers may have been provided higher value policies than were needed by that consumer. As previously advised, Swann has identified and proposed remediation in relation to such policies. In addition, Swann is currently investigating new underwriting criteria on its front-end sales system which would restrict the allocation of options for cover based on purchase and finance arrangements to ensure that each consumer is offered an appropriate level of cover. Page 2 of 9 '••••••••-·•·••"'"'",__.,,,,,,,,.,,,,.,,,_,_,,,..,,,._., _______,~•·• ••• ••.--••••-•,__..., . , . ,,, ,, _,,_,, __,, .,_,,, ,, ,,_,_,_, _ ____, _,_ ,,,,,,,,,,,,_,,,, .., . ...,.-.-nn--.-.-----·- ··•'•• •••- . .-.•,,•• •• •••••••• ••••••••-·... -u, ,..,,,_,,,,,, ,,,,,,,-~"····-·""'-.,."~_..,,,, ,..,~ IAG.502.018.4707 In relation to the 694 policies referred to on page 4 of ASIC's November letter, Swann does not consider that an absence of claims under these policies necessarily supports a conclusion that the policies were mis-sold, however if such policies were mis-sold Swann accepts an obligation to remediate affected customers. Swann is considering the most efficient means of identifying consumers who may have been mis-sold an add-on insurance product and the most effective means of communicating with these customers. Swann has previously sought to engage with ASIC to seek ASIC's views on what measures ASIC would consider appropriate, and we again invite a discussion of such measures. b) - s a finance broker that was authorised as a CAR of Swann on 27 July 2016, and the authorisation remains current. Prior to this eriod and relevant to the articular matters raised in AS IC's letter), , trading under the name--- ••••••••••2016. was a CAR of Swann from 1 J u l~ The following Swann products were sold by••I • Gap; • Loan Protection Insurance; • Business Use Loan Protection Insurance; • Tyre & Rim; • Motor Cycle Comprehensive; and • Motor Vehicle Comprehensive. i) Address misrepresentation ASIC has raised two examples of where ASIC considers - staff engaged in false disclosure, motivated by the need to ensure a loan was approved. It is not clear from the inform ation available to Swann whether the consumer failed to provide the correct address or whether the AR was responsible for the false disclosure. Further, and as noted above, Swann is not privy to the loan application or ANZ's requirements in respect of a loan application. Nor is Swann or its representatives authorised to commit ANZ to the granting of a loan or responsible for the monitoring or oversight oWZ's lending practices. In the event of a false disclosure of a consumer's address or postcode for an insurance risk, Swann would not reject a claim, but would adjust the premium in accordance with its rights under the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth) if the premium charged had been incorrect. Page 3 of9 IAG.502.018.4708 In the event of a valid claim under policy number , there would have been a premium refund due to the consumer based on the correct address/postcode disclosure. Had a valid claim been made under policy number- there would have been no premium adjustment required based on the correct address/postcode disclosure. ii) AS/C's concerns relating to- sales practices Swann is not aware of the specific practices of ~ nd • Swann can confirm that nd • were provraecrwrrFi""elevant training and education as detailed in item 1(a)(iii) above. If the sales practices of and • in relation to the sale of Swann products were as detailed by ASIC, such practices are inconsistent with Swann's sales process for ARs as set out in the Swann General Advice Training manual (a copy of which is attached as Annexure B). Swann accepts that the practices referred to on page 5 in numbered paragraphs (a) - (e) may lead to unfair outcomes for some customers. As previously advised, Swann is willing to remediate consumers where it is shown that any mis-selling of an insurance product in breach of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001 (Cth) (ASIC Act) has occurred, including in circumstances identified in sub-clauses (a) (f) of the letter from Ben Bessel! on 26 September 2016. In order for Swann to investigate these circumstances (as they relate to - and . ). Swann requests that ASIC provide any further information 1t can share in relation to the concerns set out on pages 4 and 5 of ASIC's November letter. iii) Remote locations Swann has previously provided data to ASIC with respect to ASIC's concerns in relation to consumers situated in remote locations. Swann does not consider that the data supports that there is a greater risk of mis selling in remote locations. Swann does not agree with ASIC's assertions that Swann's supervision and monitoring was inadequate in these areas and Swann would like to discuss with ASIC any further information it has in relation to such concerns, including the steps ASIC believes Swann ought to have taken and failed to take to meet its obligations. Please see the further comments below in section 1 d) in relation to Swann's education and training of ARs. c) - is a used car dealership trading as a CAR of Swann. The effective date of the authorisation with Swann was 1 November 201 1 and the contract was terminated on 20 October 2015. The following Swann products were sold by - • Gap; • Walkaway I Protection Plus Insurance; • Tyre & Rim; • Motor Cycle Comprehensive; and • Motor Vehicle Comprehensive. Page4 of 9 IAG.502.018.4709 i) AS/C's concerns relating to-sales practices ASIC's concerns~ involve a single transaction for a consumer, being ~ Swann acknowledges the seriousness of the allegations and will investigate sales by- .