Insurer ordered to fit genuine car part amid safety fears
The industry ombudsman has told Insurance Manufacturers of Australia to replace a car windscreen with an approved part instead of a cheaper aftermarket version.
The car’s owner lodged a windscreen damage claim in January, and the insurer proposed a replacement from a non-Mazda supplier that was four to five times cheaper than the genuine glass.
The policy allowed the insurer to use non-genuine parts when genuine ones were not “reasonably available”.
The claimant argued a non-genuine windscreen posed safety risks related to the function of a forward-sensing camera.
He produced email exchanges with a Mazda parts manager who flagged the issue, and he referred to Mazda’s website, which stated the safety technology was “designed to work in conjunction” with genuine windscreens. It warned non-genuine parts could “jeopardise the integrity of the many safety components in your vehicle”.
The insurer’s windscreen expert said the geniune and non-genuine parts were designed to the same specifications and the only “noticeable difference” was a Mazda logo on the former.
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He said he had encountered issues with non-genuine windscreens on other vehicles, but not with Mazdas.
The expert suggested Mazda just wanted to “get the $$$ from their [original equipment manufacture] costings”.
But the Australian Financial Complaints Authority says the expert’s response “lacks clarity” around the safety matter.
The complainant has not established a certainty or likelihood that his vehicle would have safety issues with a non-genuine windscreen, but there is a “reasonable possibility of such problems”.
The insurer did not give enough consideration to this and instead prioritised replacement cost concerns, AFCA says.
“Given the complainant’s reasonable concerns about the possibility of problems with the safety features, considering only cost does not give due regard to the complainant’s interests.”
See the ruling here.
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