Plaintiff law firm Shine Lawyers says it has received Federal Court approval to settle the life insurance class action it filed against Westpac in October 2017.

Under the settlement agreement Westpac will pay up to $30 million without any admission of liability.

Westpac previously announced in April that it had agreed to settle the class action relating to premiums for life insurance policies sold between 2011 and 2017 “without any admission of liability”. The agreement was subject to approval from the Federal Court.

The class action on behalf of tens of thousands of customers alleges the lender and its businesses – St George, BT and Bank of Melbourne – charged them 4.3% and/or 9.09% more for policies that were the same as those being offered by independent advisers.

Shine Lawyers Head of Class Actions Jan Saddler says the settlement represents a good outcome for affected customers.

“There is still time for the thousands impacted by the bank’s alleged misconduct to come forward and to sign up for our class action,” Ms Saddler said.

“In coming weeks, we’ll be reaching out to all potential group members to advise on registration processes and dates.”