As the clock ticks down, Australians are being urged to check if they are entitled to a share of the millions in ‘junk insurance’ refunds before the opportunity vanishes.
The release of payouts comes after the Royal Commission exposed the widespread selling of add-on insurance policies from loans taken out from major banks dating back to the late 1990s.
With the deadline fast approaching, it’s a race against time for you to potentially reclaim thousands of dollars that could significantly impact your life.
The term ‘junk insurance’ refers to the unnecessary and often expensive insurance policies that were added to loans, credit cards, and other financial products. These policies were sold under the pretence of providing protection but were, in many cases, of little to no benefit to the consumer.
The Royal Commission’s findings led to a crackdown on these practices and the establishment of a compensation scheme for affected Australians. One such beneficiary, Karen W. from Victoria, was astonished to receive nearly $15,000 after being misled into purchasing insurance with three personal loans many years ago.
‘When the payout happened, I could not believe it. That’s quite a lot of money when you think about it,’ she said.
Her story is one of many. Teena and her husband Troy from Central NSW discovered the insurance they were sold was hindering their ability to pay off their home loan. After challenging the charges, they received a staggering refund of $111,159, which included $66,567.97 in interest charges.
‘It’s going straight on the mortgage and will mean we will have our home paid off in the next year or so instead of in the next 10 or 20, it’s life-changing,’ said Teena.
The urgency of the situation cannot be overstated as the Royal Commission has set a firm deadline of February 4 for final applications. After this date, any unclaimed funds will be irretrievable, and the chance to rectify years of financial disadvantage will be lost forever.
So far, the Big Four Banks – Commonwealth Bank, ANZ, Westpac, and NAB – have already paid out over $8 million in refunds, but there is still more to be claimed.
If you think you may have been sold junk insurance, the process involves lodging a complaint with your bank regarding any unrecognised charges labelled as consumer credit insurance, mortgage protection insurance, or similar.
However, navigating the claims process can be daunting. This is where services that offer assistance in securing the maximum possible payout could step in. While they do take a commission – around 30% of the successful payout – many, like Karen W., believe the service is invaluable.
‘Realistically, I would not have ever known I had it. So to me, they did great work, and they deserve something for it,’ Karen told Yahoo Finance.
According to reports, the largest payout of such services was reportedly a staggering $144,000, a huge sum compared to the initial $58,000 paid by the claimant for the insurance. This figure reportedly includes not only the premium but also the interest and compensatory interest – what the money would have been worth today had the insurance not been sold.
Such payouts have enabled some Australians to completely pay off their mortgages, providing financial freedom and peace of mind.
As the deadline is fast approaching, you must act swiftly. If you’ve taken out credit in the past two decades, it’s worth investigating whether you were sold junk insurance. The potential benefits are too significant to ignore.
At YourLifeChoices, we encourage our readers to share their experiences with junk insurance and the claims process. Have you received a payout, or are you planning to submit a claim?
Let us know in the comments below, and remember, time is of the essence – do not let this chance slip away.
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