[James Gutierrez]

You could be owed thousands of dollars! Here's how one woman claimed her refund​

Like many Aussies, Patricia from Sydney was blissfully unaware that she was owed a sizable chunk of money – $24,000, to be exact.

It wasn't until she saw a news story about it that she realised there was the potential for her to get a refund on what's called 'junk insurance'.

For those who may not be familiar, 'junk insurance' is a term used to indicate add-on insurance plans that are virtually useless to the customer to whom they were sold. This could take the form of a policy that doesn't apply to the customer's situation, is difficult to file a claim on, or just overcharges for nonexistent services.

Yes, you read correctly: some financial institutions have been selling complete garbage to their customers and pocketing the cash! Thankfully, this practice has been put to an end (for now), but there are still billions of dollars in refunds waiting to be claimed.

One woman unexpectedly received $24,000 in reimbursement from her 'junk insurance'. Credit: Toni Faint/Getty Images. (Stock photo)​

Patricia quickly decided to investigate and see if she could get any money back, so she reached out to Claimo – a service that helps consumers find and process refunds by launching an investigation on their behalf.

'I saw on the news a few months back that people were eligible for these refunds,' she said in an interview with a news source. 'So, I made an inquiry, and I found out I had been paying insurance that I shouldn't have been paying.'

Just five short weeks later, Patricia received amazing news: her inquiry had come back positive, and she would be receiving a $24,000 payout!

'I didn't even realise I was eligible [for the refund], and it's quite a bit of money I got back, so it's very exciting,' Patricia said after being told about the windfall.

She plans to save the money for a down payment on a house loan.

​

The first thing to do if you suspect you were offered junk insurance is to see if your bank, super fund, or other financial institution has contacted you about any remediation programmes they are currently participating in.

Get in touch with the bank or other financial institution in question if you still have questions about any fees you may have been charged and want to confirm whether or not you were wrongly charged.

If you think you might be eligible for a refund as well, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has put together some guidance on what to do next.

More details about the refund (including how to claim it) can be found on the ASIC website.

We hope this article has helped shed some light on a very confusing (and frustrating) issue. If you're still feeling lost, the team members at SDC are always happy to help out – just reach out to us via our website or in the comments section below, and we'll do our best to point you in the right direction!

 

[goodmorning]

this may not be looking for money but I joined the Seniors Insurance just over a year ago and when we got all the rain I noticed a mold patch on my bathroom wall I thought it was coming from the roof so I rang the Insurance and they sent out a person to look at the mold he washed the wall with some liquid and said it will be right till I get it fixed by the next week they sent out a plumber and he cut a hole in my wall and said that the leek is coming from a pip he thinks then an asseser came out and this I might add was done very promly then after that I got nothing a month went by so I rang and they said they were still looking at it I left it for a few more weeks and rang again I got told the same thing then when I rang the next time I got told it had been declinde it was a lack of maternents so long story cut short I have been left with a hole in my wall a leek and a very damp wall and mold. I checked my insurance and yes Im coved for leeks and water damage so what have I done ronge I dont claim on my insurance unless I have to and I thought that the seniors Insurance was one for the pensenors I guess they are just like the rest take your money and do as little as they can

 

[Suzanne rose]

this may not be looking for money but I joined the Seniors Insurance just over a year ago and when we got all the rain I noticed a mold patch on my bathroom wall I thought it was coming from the roof so I rang the Insurance and they sent out a person to look at the mold he washed the wall with some liquid and said it will be right till I get it fixed by the next week they sent out a plumber and he cut a hole in my wall and said that the leek is coming from a pip he thinks then an asseser came out and this I might add was done very promly then after that I got nothing a month went by so I rang and they said they were still looking at it I left it for a few more weeks and rang again I got told the same thing then when I rang the next time I got told it had been declinde it was a lack of maternents so long story cut short I have been left with a hole in my wall a leek and a very damp wall and mold. I checked my insurance and yes Im coved for leeks and water damage so what have I done ronge I dont claim on my insurance unless I have to and I thought that the seniors Insurance was one for the pensenors I guess they are just like the rest take your money and do as little as they can

Omg I have Australian Seniors insurance and I have a leaking pipe in my shower wall I only knew about it when after my son had a shower water cane under the wall in my sons room which the shower is on the other side . We got our plumber straight out and he found the leak and cut it off . He had to open the wall and also break tiles this is in my upstairs bathroom.
He told me to contact my insurance as finding the leak and the water damage will be covered although not fixing the leak.
I called which took ages to get through
They put in my claim and said an assessor will contact me in 24 to 48 hours after 5 days I called back and they said my claim is there but the lady forgot to send it to the accesor.
This was September 29th.

They sent out 3 people to take samples of the wall to make sure no asbestos

Then the assessor came out, then they sent someone out to check there were no more leaks on my property, he said there were no more leaks.
I said to my husband they are trying to find something to say we don't keep up maintenance of the house.
The building accesor said the wood inside the wall was very wet and will need replacing showing the leak was there for awhile he also said we couldn't have known as it was behind the wall and there was no evidence as there was no mould and the surrounding wooden floor had no damage.

I received an email over 1 week ago stating they have requested further information from the building accesor

I called them in Friday and they said I will hear from them in 24 to 48 business hours

Lucky I have a downstairs bathroom

I have since found out that they are actually a south African insurance company Hollice insurance

I have been waiting 5 weeks now.

I was previously with Apia and only changed because their premium went up drastically but the lady told me try again in 1 year as they have put up most premiums but usually give new customers a good deal.

In 40 years of paying insurance I have hardly made a claim

 

[Cheezil]

Insurance companies are greedy rogues & cant be trusted! Comments here really make me question the value of having insurance at all.
If all else fails, leave negative reviews detailing what happened (naming them) everywhere you can (ie Google forums, Facebook pages, google maps, etc (my Google asks me to review businesses I've visited automatically when my location settings are on!
I did a review when my travel insurance gave me the run around when I tried making a claim (Bali ash cloud flights cancelled) & my claim was paid within about an hour of my public review on productreview.com.au

 

[Suzanne rose]

this may not be looking for money but I joined the Seniors Insurance just over a year ago and when we got all the rain I noticed a mold patch on my bathroom wall I thought it was coming from the roof so I rang the Insurance and they sent out a person to look at the mold he washed the wall with some liquid and said it will be right till I get it fixed by the next week they sent out a plumber and he cut a hole in my wall and said that the leek is coming from a pip he thinks then an asseser came out and this I might add was done very promly then after that I got nothing a month went by so I rang and they said they were still looking at it I left it for a few more weeks and rang again I got told the same thing then when I rang the next time I got told it had been declinde it was a lack of maternents so long story cut short I have been left with a hole in my wall a leek and a very damp wall and mold. I checked my insurance and yes Im coved for leeks and water damage so what have I done ronge I dont claim on my insurance unless I have to and I thought that the seniors Insurance was one for the pensenors I guess they are just like the rest take your money and do as little as they can

Was it Australian Seniors Insurance

 

[Cheezil]

Was it Australian Seniors Insurance

I'm not sure who you are replying to Suzanne Rose but no mine wasn't Australian Seniors Insurace, it was a well known Travel Insurance Company. They made me jump thru so many hoops even after the 11 page claim form was filled correctly, that I got sick of the run around & I had nothing to lose. As soon as the review went up I had all but $100 (in phone calls relating to the cancelled flight) of my $1100 claim paid within an hour- a coincidence I think not! Edit: Oh & no i definitely won't be using travel insurance again & most certainly not that company! They are all sharks tho!

 

[Suzanne rose]

this may not be looking for money but I joined the Seniors Insurance just over a year ago and when we got all the rain I noticed a mold patch on my bathroom wall I thought it was coming from the roof so I rang the Insurance and they sent out a person to look at the mold he washed the wall with some liquid and said it will be right till I get it fixed by the next week they sent out a plumber and he cut a hole in my wall and said that the leek is coming from a pip he thinks then an asseser came out and this I might add was done very promly then after that I got nothing a month went by so I rang and they said they were still looking at it I left it for a few more weeks and rang again I got told the same thing then when I rang the next time I got told it had been declinde it was a lack of maternents so long story cut short I have been left with a hole in my wall a leek and a very damp wall and mold. I checked my insurance and yes Im coved for leeks and water damage so what have I done ronge I dont claim on my insurance unless I have to and I thought that the seniors Insurance was one for the pensenors I guess they are just like the rest take your money and do as little as they can

Was it Australian Seniors Insurance

 

[Suzanne rose]

I'm not sure who you are replying to Suzanne Rose but no mine wasn't Australian Seniors Insurace, it was a well known Travel Insurance Company. They made me jump thru so many hoops even after the 11 page claim form was filled correctly, that I got sick of the run around & I had nothing to lose. As soon as the review went up I had all but $100 (in phone calls relating to the cancelled flight) of my $1100 claim paid within an hour- a coincidence I think not! Edit: Oh & no i definitely won't be using travel insurance again & most certainly not that company! They are all sharks tho!

Sorry I thought I was replying to # goodmorning

 

[Ezzy]

Sorry I thought I was replying to # goodmorning

So did l Suzanne rose. The heading was, 'goodmorning said'.

 

[Suzanne rose]

this may not be looking for money but I joined the Seniors Insurance just over a year ago and when we got all the rain I noticed a mold patch on my bathroom wall I thought it was coming from the roof so I rang the Insurance and they sent out a person to look at the mold he washed the wall with some liquid and said it will be right till I get it fixed by the next week they sent out a plumber and he cut a hole in my wall and said that the leek is coming from a pip he thinks then an asseser came out and this I might add was done very promly then after that I got nothing a month went by so I rang and they said they were still looking at it I left it for a few more weeks and rang again I got told the same thing then when I rang the next time I got told it had been declinde it was a lack of maternents so long story cut short I have been left with a hole in my wall a leek and a very damp wall and mold. I checked my insurance and yes Im coved for leeks and water damage so what have I done ronge I dont claim on my insurance unless I have to and I thought that the seniors Insurance was one for the pensenors I guess they are just like the rest take your money and do as little as they can

Insurance companies don't pay to repair the leak but they do repair to find the leak well Australian seniors Insurance pay $500 to find leek then they pay for water damage. Was it Australian Seniors Insurance I know there are a few senior insurance oymut

So did l Suzanne rose. The heading was, 'goodmorning said'.

Yeh I couldn't work that one out, even looking back at it I still thought I replied to Goodmorning