Australia sues insurance comparison site Choosi for alleged misleading claims

About 4,225 funeral insurance policies and 9,478 life insurance policies may be affected.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is suing insurance comparison provider Choosi Pty Ltd for allegedly misleading prospective customers.

Choosi is accused of making false and misleading representations by claiming it compared products from a range of funeral and life insurers.

However, ASIC claims that Choosi had only compared policies issued by a single insurer, with one exception.

ASIC alleges that at least 4,225 funeral insurance policies and 9,478 life insurance policies were affected, with Choosi receiving $61m in commissions. The period covered starts at 1 July 2019 until present day.

All policies were distributed by Greenstone Financial Services Pty Ltd, a company associated with Choosi, ASIC said.

ASIC also alleged that Choosi made misleading representations on its website, across social media, and via television commercials and advertorials

This is a contravention of 12DB and 12DF of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001, according to ASIC.

The maximum penalty for a single contravention is $16.5m.