South African-owned insurer Youi has denied allegations its Australian arm has manipulated client data for the purpose of rejecting claims.

In New Zealand, Youi faces 15 charges of misconduct, including making false sales pitches.

A spokesman for the Australian Securities and Investments Commission told insuranceNEWS.com.au the regulator is “making enquiries” into the matter. He gave no further details.

Youi says Fairfax Media reports about the Australian arm, based on accounts from five unidentified whistleblowers, are untrue.

The media reports also allege Youi billed potential customers for policies they never took out.

“We take the allegations extremely seriously,” Youi says in a statement. “Youi strongly denies that information is deliberately mis-captured in order to reject claims. Contrary to the allegation, we exist to pay claims and have an excellent claims-paying reputation.”

The Insurance Council of Australia says it will not comment on allegations against individual insurers. “They are a matter for the regulator and the company concerned,” spokesman Campbell Fuller told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

Youi says it has a strong compliance framework for monitoring deviations from company policy, and a culture of encouraging whistleblowers.

“Any deviations are addressed by remedying the issue, reinforcing expectations through training and, if necessary, taking more serious corrective action,” it says.

“Youi has a whistleblowing policy in place that affords whistleblowers anonymity and protection in line with relevant legislation.

“We encourage our staff to report any concerns they identify; to date we have had no whistleblowing reports in relation to the issues raised in the [Fairfax Media] article.”

Youi started operations in Australia in 2008, providing cover direct to consumers. It entered the New Zealand market in 2014.

See earlier story