Australia's #1 Junk Insurance Refund Service

Junk Insurance Refund Service

What is junk insurance?

“Junk insurance” is a catch-all term used to describe add-on insurance policies that are essentially useless to the consumer it was sold to. It may be a policy that’s irrelevant to your personal circumstances, near-impossible to claim on, or simply charging you for services that don’t exist.

Junk insurance is a significant problem, too. According to the Consumer Law Action Centre in Australia, it is estimated that Australians could have been sold more than $60 billion worth of junk insurance over the past ten years. Many people are sold policies they would never be able to claim on, and others didn’t even know they had been sold certain insurance policies in the first place. Their data also showed that it wasn’t only banks selling these junk insurance policies to consumers but also car dealers, retailers and insurers.

Junk insurance comes in an assortment of different guises, which often makes them hard to spot when you’re trying to find the best insurance coverage for any situation, and you’re not an expert in the field. Some common examples include:

  • Consumer credit insurance (CCI) — In theory, CCI covers you if you’re unable to make loan repayments under various circumstances (e.g. job loss, injury, disability etc). In practice? Well, it’s a service attached to so many credit cards and loans, you may well never have even realised you’re paying for it! 
  • Guaranteed Asset Protection (GAP) — GAP is designed to cover the shortfall between an insurance payout and the money you owe on your car finance, should it be written off. But it’s often a sneaky extra cost that you don’t really need to be paying!
  • Mechanical Breakdown Insurance (MBI) — Additional coverage on manufacturer parts for your vehicle sounds good, doesn’t it? But in practice, MBI can’t be claimed until your manufacturer warranty is over! So you can find yourself paying for it for years without any ability to use it.
  • Mortgage Protection Insurance — Though this type of insurance is potentially beneficial (it’s designed to cover mortgage costs if you pass away before paying it off), it’s still often classed as junk insurance due to the minimal payout level.

 

Though the questionable nature of these types of insurance seems more obvious in broad daylight, it’s not surprising that they’re so prevalent. We can often get caught up in all the industry jargon and the pressure of trying to cover every possible scenario where you could use the support of an insurance claim. Scare tactics can unknowingly coerce you into considering every “worst-case scenario” possible in your lifetime (no matter how outrageous or unlikely they may be). It’s enough to make anyone sign the dotted line out of pure fear!

But there is good news too. If you’ve purchased any of these, you may be eligible for a junk insurance refund. ASIC has been doing a fantastic job of securing over $160 million for consumers to date. So if you think you may be eligible for a junk insurance refund, read on to find out more about how we can help.

Get My Refund will fight for every cent you're owed

We specialise in reclaiming money for consumers by investigating your individual situation to get back what you are owed if you were mis-sold, even if your loan is still current or has been paid out.

How do I know if this is what I’ve been sold?

First of all, most people will not know in the first instance that they have been sold junk insurance. It is usually cleverly hidden within all of the industry lingo and wordy contracts that the average customer has no chance of understanding. Go through your contracts at your own speed, and clarify anything that confuses you. You will need to do some extra homework and thoroughly go through all your insurance documentation yourself, even after the insurance broker has already gone through it with you.
Clarify the words or statements that aren’t spelled out in layman’s terms, and make sure you can say with confidence that you understand the entirety of your contract. Don’t be scared to ask for help with this elsewhere too, from someone who can translate the industry speak. Check that the policy actually provides the cover that you’re after, and make sure that you know exactly what you want from an insurance policy before you go signing on the dotted line.

What could have been sold with my insurance?

Even if the loan is active or paid out:
  • Credit Cards
  • Home Loans
  • Bike/Car Finance – Bank or Dealer Finance
  • Personal Loans (excluding pay day loans, or Small Amount Credit Contracts)

What do I do if I think I’ve been sold junk insurance?

Thankfully this is where our industry expertise comes in! We take assist you with claiming back
  1. Provide us with your details, including loan contracts if you can (if not we can help)
  2. We analyse these details and call you to finalise your claim
  3. We submit your refund claim(s)
  4. You get paid!

What Our Customers Are Saying

FAQs

If you have taken any type of consumer finance and have been sold insurance, you may be eligible for a refund on the premiums of that insurance. In some cases, you may also be eligible for a refund on the interest you have been charged on those premiums. Start here to quickly find out if you are eligible! 3 out of 4 people that apply with us, actually have something to claim, we do more than insurance refunds.

With Get My Refund, no refund, no fee! So why wait? Reach out to us by filling out our form and we will investigate your refund claim.

Once we have your refund claim, our current average success time is 45-55 days. We can request your details from your financier or you can send us your contacts to check to see if you have a refund claim! Sometimes this can be longer depending on the individual as all circumstance are different, but we will always work hard to maximise what you are owed.
 
Yes, absolutely! As per the ruling of the Royal Commission, any individual who has been mis-sold insurance may be owed a refund.