Kathmandu. New Zealand’s largest insurer, IAG New Zealand Ltd, has been fined heavily.
IAG has been fined $19.5 million by New Zealand’s High Court for a “massive failure of business”. The High Court has imposed the fine on IAG for its historic failure to properly enforce the discounts for some customers and for miscalculating government fees.
Following the company’s self-report, the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) began investigating IAG’s conduct between September 2021 and December 2024. About 269,000 customers were affected by these breaches and the company charged them more than $35 million, according to the investigation.
IAG operates major insurance brands such as STAT, AMI and NZI. The company admits to providing false and misleading information about insurance products, including false premium pricing and failure to apply key discounts on policies sold through its business division and distribution partners.
Louis Unger, the FMA’s executive director of response and enforcement, said the IAG’s violations were significant. “The nature and magnitude of IAG’s violations far exceeds that have been found in any other fair practice case brought to court by the FMA,” he said.
“IAG is a large and sophisticated market leader and plays a key role in maintaining market standards accordingly,” Unger said. ’
