Hybrid approach bears fruit
ClearView has picked up gold for its LifeSolutions Business Expense in the 2013 Money Management/DEXX&R Business Overhead product category.
Renee Hancock, ClearView’s manager, life products, said the most attractive aspect of its offering is that it has both a total disability as well as a partial disability benefit.
“If the client also holds an income protection-plus policy, then that benefit of day one partially flows through to our business expense policy, so there’s no need for the client to be totally disabled during the waiting period,” she said.
While a few insurers have moved to offering an agreed value for their business overhead cover, Hancock said there was more work that could be done in this market including leasing benefits for two years rather than the traditional 12 times monthly benefit limit.
“We will be doing another update before June 30 2014 and that’s where I’d like to engage some more advisers about introducing some extra benefits for the business expense product,” she added.
For it’s silver-winning FutureWise Business Expenses product, it was important for Macquarie Life to recognise that small business owners needed a product that could meet their broader needs in the event that they were unable to continue work.
That’s according to Macquarie Life head of underwriting and claims Sally Phillips, who said that under the product’s policy, business income earned while the insured is on claim does not offset the monthly benefit payable.
“While the maximum payable under the policy is 12 times the monthly benefit, if the full amount is not claimed each month then the benefit period can be extended for a further 12 months to use any remaining benefit if required,” she said.
In 2013, Macquarie Life added compulsory capital repayments of a business loan as an allowable business expense.
“This ensures that the policyholder can be secure in the fact that they will still be able to meet their business loan commitments in the event of disability,” Phillips said.
Having continued to bolster its footprint in the independent financial adviser market since 2011, BT Life was able to retain its bronze award for its Business Overheads offering.
“Our success in this area is really satisfying because a couple of years ago we weren’t really considered a stand-alone insurance specialist because of our history of wrap and so forth as a superannuation provider,” said BT Financial Group senior product technical manager Katherine Ashby.
As part of its recent product update in May, BT now provides the ability for clients to fund any insurance inside super via a partial rollover as well as a super-linked protection policy available to the whole market.
Ashby said the three-tier definition for cover continued to set BT’s offering apart from its competitors because it provided advisers with certainty.
“There’s a lot of flexibility for self-employed people; coupling that with our flexible waiting period requirements, we’re a really good choice in that space,” she said.
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