The corporate regulator is alleging MLC Life Insurance failed more than 260,000 customers, leading to $17.5 million in losses resulting from unpaid insurance benefits, premiums being charged without notice and underpaid refunds over more than two decades.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission alleges that the conduct at MLC Life Insurance, which is now part of Nippon Life Group of Companies, lasted from 1999 to November 2020, leading to breaches in obligations as a financial services provider and MLC’s duty to act in good faith when handling insurance claims.