And the customer pays forever
Riester customers repeatedly complain to us about the high costs of their insurance. AachenMünchener, now trading under the name of Generali Lebensversicherung, continued to use Thomas Meentzen’s acquisition costs even after they had been paid for by the customer, according to previous information.
–
Riester saver sued successfully
The Riester customer from Twistringen in Lower Saxony filed a lawsuit and his lawyer Harald Weymann obtained an acknowledgment judgment at the Syke district court (Az. 25 C 830/18). Generali has to reimburse costs that have been paid too much. The insurer was only allowed to take acquisition and distribution costs for the first five years since the contract began in 2010. If such costs were incurred in 2015 and in the following years, the insurer must reimburse them: a total of just under EUR 219 plus interest.
–
Non-transparent conditions
“I looked unsuccessfully in the contract terms for a clear description of the acquisition and distribution costs,” says Meentzen. “Even the agent who sold the insurance couldn’t help me.” The fact that the cost representation in the contract deviates significantly from the representation in the stand notifications that the customer received in the following years contributed significantly to the confusion.
–
Transparente Standmitteilung
In the annual status reports up to 2014 it was clear and clear: “The acquisition and distribution costs of your insurance are generally waived after 5 years at the latest.” This also applies to all “increases through special payments”. The court now made it clear that after five years Generali may no longer “deduct any further closing costs from the premium and that this ban also extends to the annual state allowances”.
–
And the many other customers?
Generali sees the judgment as an “individual decision”. It has no effect on other customers. Rather, it is “a special, individual contract-specific constellation of facts,” said a company spokesman. It is about “individual advice to the broker when concluding a contract”. This rationale is not only unclear, it’s also strange. Because every customer who uses an agent must be given individual advice on whether the pension insurance contract is right for him. However, this does not change the conditions and customer information of the products offered.
–
Check conditions and status messages
Generali customers with a unit-linked Riester pension insurance “Strategy No. 1 ”should check whether the presentation of the acquisition and distribution costs in the contractual conditions is transparent and does not deviate from the information in the first stand notifications after the conclusion of the contract. If this is the case, customers should reclaim costs that have been paid too much and, if necessary, sue.
–
Supervision prevents acquisition costs that are too high
Collecting money twice is not possible. The Federal Ministry of Finance complained in 2019 that customers with a Riester pension insurance pay too much acquisition costs with certain companies. This is the case, for example, when a mother has reduced her own contributions because the child allowances are now also included in the contract. When the children are older, she pays a higher contribution as before. Then acquisition costs were due again. (More on this in our message Riester pension: This is how you can claim back double commission.) Customers of the Allianz, Volkswohl Bund and Barmenia. The financial supervisory authority Bafin has asked the insurers to end the practice of “double acquisition costs”.
The right to reimbursement does not expire. Unfortunately, the insurers do not have to reimburse the excessively collected costs of their own accord. Here, too, customers have to take action themselves and demand this. Your claims are not time barred.
Leseraufruf. Are you paying too much too? Tell us about your experiences! Write to [email protected].
—
