Steer v AMP Life Limited & AMP Superannuation Ltd

In the case of Steer v AMP Life Limited & AMP Superannuation Ltd, the applicant, Steer, sought damages from AMP Life and AMP Superannuation for their failure to notify the deceased of her right to elect to maintain life insurance benefits, resulting in their cancellation. The case involved a complex interplay of insurance, superannuation, and statutory obligations under the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 (Cth) and the Trustee Laws Amendment Act (No 2) 2013 (Cth). The court had to determine whether AMP Life and AMP Superannuation breached their duties, whether AMP Superannuation owed a duty of utmost good faith to the deceased, and whether AMP Life was required to respond to the claim under the life insurance policy.

The court found that AMP Life and AMP Superannuation did not engage in misleading or deceptive conduct, as the deceased was not aware of the letter sent to her, and thus it did not cause any loss. The court also ruled that AMP Life was not obligated to respond to the claim because AMP Superannuation had cancelled the life insurance benefits, not AMP Life. Furthermore, the court concluded that AMP Superannuation was not a life insurer and did not owe a duty of utmost good faith to the deceased. However, the court held that AMP Superannuation breached its duty to act in the best interests of the deceased by not notifying her of the proposed cancellation of the life insurance benefits, thereby depriving her of the right to elect to maintain those benefits.

The court awarded the applicant damages in the sum of $259,720.97 against AMP Superannuation, while dismissing the claim against AMP Life. The court held that AMP Superannuation breached its obligations under the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 (Cth) and the Trustee Laws Amendment Act (No 2) 2013 (Cth) by not providing the deceased with notice of the proposed cancellation of the life insurance benefits. The court found that the deceased would have elected to maintain the life insurance benefits if she had been given the opportunity to do so. The court also found that AMP Life did not breach any duty owed to the applicant as it was AMP Superannuation who cancelled the life insurance benefits.