HIBERNIAN DIRECT has been fined €45,000 by the Financial Regulator and paid refunds to customers of €16,608 following breaches of the regulator's consumer protection code.
The breaches related to the sale of optional extra cover in relation to motor policies sold by Hibernian. The regulator found that Hibernian did not provide all the information required by the code when selling these extras.
In a statement released last night, Hibernian said the incidents were "a misinterpretation of requirements".
The average refund paid was €45 which suggests approximately 370 customers were affected. Hibernian provides cover for more than 400,000 vehicles in the Irish market.
A settlement agreement published by the regulator and Hibernian yesterday said that "no customer has complained directly to the Financial Regulator in relation to the suspected breaches".
It is understood, however, that the regulator raised the matter with Hibernian on the back of its own intelligence.
The incidents occurred between May 1st and May 24th last year. Hibernian said it "is now fully compliant with the consumer protection code and has co-operated fully with the Financial Regulator".
Hibernian wrote to customers who had taken out policies during the period in question offering to delete the extras from their policies and to refund the premiums. Seven per cent of customers availed of the offer, the insurer said in its statement.
The consumer protection code came into operation on August 1st, 2006. It requires customers to agree separately to all extras on a policy.
It is understood that Hibernian Direct sought a single acceptance from customers at the end of the negotiation and this put it in breach.
Hibernian has now confirmed to the regulator that no customer who purchased a policy suffered a loss as a consequence of the suspected breaches.
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