Direct Insurance Arm of TAL Hit With $10K Fine

The direct insurance arm of TAL Life, InsuranceLine has paid a $10,200 penalty after it was issued with an infringement notice by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

ASIC issued the notice for false or misleading television advertisements which promoted InsuranceLine’s income protection product, which the regulator stated were likely to give the impression that someone claiming would be able to access an upfront payout without a waiting period. The product was issued by TAL Life, via InsuranceLine, a trading name of TAL Direct.

The advertisement, which was removed from broadcasting by InsuranceLine after it was notified of ASIC’s concerns, featured a couple and voiceover indicating one of them would need to take five weeks off work due to an injury sustained while overseas.

The voiceover stated the income protection policy would ‘keep their bank balance healthy during recovery’ with written representations on the screen stating “Illness and injury cover up to 85% of income to $10,000 a month’, while fine print statements at the bottom of the screen, stated “Waiting periods, payout periods, limitations and exclusions apply”.

ASIC was concerned the statements in the advertisements were false or misleading and claimants would have full access to a payout when the claim could be subject to a minimum waiting period of at least 14 days and up to 90 days depending on the policy chosen, during which no benefits would be paid.

ASIC was also concerned the advertisement indicated claimants would receive benefits into their bank account while the product’s Product Disclosure Statement indicated claimants would be paid in arrears after confirmation they had been off work for the length of the relevant waiting period.

The regulator stated that while the advertisement carried fine print it was insufficient to correct any misleading impression created on any viewing, due to its lack of details, clarity and prominence.