Banking inquiry: Calls for crackdown on 'pushy' funeral insurance industry

The private funeral insurance sector has been under the spotlight at the Banking Royal Commission.

Kathy Marika at the Royal Commission.

Kathy Marika at the Royal Commission. Source: Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry

Yolŋu woman Kathy Balngayngu Marika told the  Banking Royal Commission on Wednesday that she was subject to "really pushy" sales tactics and found it difficult to understand what she was being signed up for when insurance company Let's Insure called her in 2015.

The commission heard excerpts of phone calls between Ms Marika and salespeople at the Let's Insure company pushing funeral insurance. One call was with a man with a British accent who consistently spoke over the top of Ms Marika, allowing little time for her to respond.

Ms Marika said she only understood half of what was being said throughout the call, and that she had to mentally translate what was being said to her native language, Yolŋu Matha.

Read the full story at .


Share
Published 4 July 2018 8:40pm
Updated 4 July 2018 8:45pm
By Rachael Hocking


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world