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Ryanair, easyJet fined over €1 million for mis-selling insurance

Budget airlines Ryanair and easyJet have been fined by Italian authorities for mis-selling insurance on their websites.
Written by Charlie Osborne, Contributing Writer

Italian regulators have slapped Ryanair and easyJet with fines of over €1m for misleading insurance policies.

The budget airlines have been accused of mis-selling insurance on their websites. The Italian Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato (AGCM) said that the carriers infringed consumer codes by not supplying the right information to customers and potentially misleading those who purchased travel insurance.

Some of the issues included a lack of transparency and little clarity when it came to claim filing. In addition, the websites did not clearly state policy excess, the taxes and airport charges that were or were not covered, and the requirement of claimants to call a premium-rate number and paying for a certificate proving they were unable to travel -- all costs which could be higher than insurance policy payouts themselves.

The regulators said this was "information which the companies already have and could be easily given to the insurance company without any burden to consumers."

Ryanair was fined €850,000 and told it has 30 days to tell regulators how it will change "unfair commercial practices." EasyJet was fined €200,000 as the airline has already made changes to policies deemed unfair by Italian authorities.

EasyJet said it was disappointed with the decision, and Ryanair plans to appeal -- but will still be amending its website.

Via: Skift

Image credit: Ryanair

This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com

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