Class Action Targets Commonwealth Bank of Australia Over Insurance Advising

Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) said on Friday a class action lawsuit was filed over advice given on life insurance policies issued and recommended by three former subsidiaries.

The lawsuit was filed by Shine Lawyers against financial advisors Commonwealth Financial Planning Ltd (CFPL) and Financial Wisdom Ltd., and The Colonial Mutual Life Assurance Society, a life insurer sold by CBA to AIA Group this year.

The lawsuit relates to advice given by CFPL and Financial Wisdom on policies issued by Colonial Mutual.

In January, the same law firm brought another class action lawsuit against CBA’s pension arm for not acting in customers interest by encouraging them to pick policies provided by CommInsure.

CBA stopped providing licensee services through Financial Wisdom and CFPL this year as part of the bank’s move away from wealth management.

Australia’s biggest bank did not say when the alleged wrongdoing took place and a Shine spokeswoman declined to comment other than to confirm that a lawsuit had been filed.

(Reporting by Nikhil Kurian Nainan in Bengaluru, additional reporting by Byron Kaye in Sydney, editing by Susan Fenton)