The Commonwealth Bank is refunding credit card, personal loan and home loan protection premiums of up to $16 million to about 140,000 customers.

The bank has also reported itself to the corporate watchdog, ASIC (Australian Securities and Investments Commission), because some customers had bought insurance they couldn’t claim benefits on due to their employment status.

“We have concerns that some customers who have been sold these products may not have been eligible to receive all of the employment-related benefits,” says Matt Comyn, Group Executive Retail Banking Services.

At the same time, the bank has decided to no longer offer Credit Card Plus and Personal Loan Protection Insurance.

“Many customers have relied on these products during very stressful times in their lives,” says Comyn.

“But we have found it hard to achieve the right balance between simplicity and accessibility on the one hand, and limiting the product to the right group of target customers on the other hand.

“We’re working closely with ASIC to provide refunds to customers who may have been ineligible to claim some benefits due to their employment status at the time of taking out the policy.”

Commonwealth is working with AIA, a leading global insurer which is acquiring the CommInsure life insurance business, to deliver new and innovative protection solutions for our customers, so that an important need can be met.

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