Class Action Lawsuit Says Airbnb, Generali Illegally Overcharge Washington Consumers for Travel Insurance

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Two Washington residents claim in a proposed class action lawsuit that they were illegally overcharged for travel insurance purchased on Airbnb.com.

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The 24-page lawsuit alleges Airbnb Insurance Agency and a U.S. branch of an Italian insurance company, Generali Assicurazioni Generali S.p.A., unfairly charge Washington customers a hidden, unapproved fee for non-insurance services when they buy travel insurance to protect their Airbnb reservations.

Under Washington law, insurers and their agents are required to submit their premium plans to the state’s insurance commissioner for approval and are prohibited from charging any rates or fees above those that are approved, the complaint says.

According to the case, the defendants have attempted to circumvent these laws by automatically charging customers additional fees for “assistance services” on top of the approved premium they charge customers for travel insurance. Per the filing, these services purportedly allow insureds to call customer service representatives to receive “roadside assistance.”

“Most, if not all, of the services and benefits [Airbnb and Generali] call ‘non-insurance’ or ‘assistance services’ are, in fact, part of the insurance contract and are subject to the approved rate, and [the defendants] are not allowed to charge extra for them,” the case contends.

Washington law also states that an insurance agent like Airbnb cannot collect any extra fees in connection with the procurement of insurance unless it gets written permission from customers agreeing to those fees and provides written disclosure of the compensation it receives from both the consumer and the insurer, the suit says.

“Consumers are not afforded any opportunity to decline these assistance services, or the associated charge in the offer or purchase process, nor is any information disclosed to consumers on assistance pricing distinguished from insurance pricing,” the lawsuit shares.

The plaintiffs claim that when they bought travel insurance on Airbnb.com, they had no idea they were paying extra for assistance and other non-insurance services. The consumers would not have overpaid had Airbnb and Generali complied with Washington law and charged them only an approved premium, the filing alleges.

Most consumers would not pay for the assistance services if given an informed choice, the complaint argues, adding that these fees are significantly higher than the “relatively low costs” Airbnb and Generali incur to provide such services.

“Regardless of how [the defendants’] ‘assistance’ fees are ultimately characterized—whether as an artifice to collect an unlawful agent’s fee or unauthorized premium or as genuinely for non-insurance services (that no one has chosen and that few people would pay for if given the choice)—the result is the same: [Airbnb and Generali] collect more from consumers than they should,” the suit claims.

The Airbnb lawsuit looks to represent any Washington residents who purchased travel insurance from Generali during the class period and were charged a fee for the supposed assistance services or benefits included with the company’s travel insurance contracts on top of the applicable insurance premium rate it was authorized to charge for their travel insurance.

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