Small changes make for big win
OnePath’s OneCare Trauma Premier won the Trauma Rider category this year due to a number of accumulative changes made to the product over the years, according to the group’s head of retail risk insurance, Gerard Kerr.
“We have a stable product and portfolio which we have adjusted and fine-tuned, we have kept an eye on medical advancements and listened to financial planner feedback on products, definitions and pricing,” Kerr said.
The cover provides a one-off payment or a regular monthly benefit if a client suffers from a listed condition including cancer, heart attack, coronary artery by-pass surgery or stroke.
OneCare Trauma Premier provides cover for 46, and partial cover for 13, specified trauma conditions.
“We have also moved payment in some cases to before surgery – where it is required – to give clients more choices about their medical treatment, and changed the way medical evidence is assessed to speed up claims, and we have passed these changes on to new and existing clients.”
Kerr said underwriting had also been improved through electronic data collection, which allowed OnePath to see where policy drop-offs were occurring and to update policies accordingly.
“It has also made us smarter and more agile as we can get more information and are able to make exclusions where necessary via the data collected on the spot, without having to always use the underwriting process.”
Snatching the Silver for this category is MLC’s Insurance Critical Illness Plus (Extra Benefits Option), which provides 20 per cent of the insurance benefit if a client suffers from one of the additional critical conditions.
The Bronze winner for this category is ClearView’s LifeSolutions Trauma Plus.
ClearView manager for life products Renee Hancock said the product rated well because of its built-in trauma reinstatement.
“Not only will we reinstate after the full trauma benefit has been paid – which is traditionally what the industry has done – we will allow the client to reinstate after they’ve had a partial trauma benefit, and I think that’s becoming more and more important,” Hancock said.
“I think it’s important that the client knows that, if they do have a partial payment on a minor or lower grade cancer, in 12 months time they can buy back, so they do have that full trauma benefit should they suffer another serious trauma.”
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