TAL takes first place with disability product award

TAL has followed up its second place finish in the overall field, with a win in the disability income category of the 2011 Money Management/Dexx&r Adviser Choice Risk Awards. The Accelerated Protection Income Protection Premier offering allows TAL to differentiate around its benefits, according to TAL retail life chief executive Brett Clark.

“The income protection benefits are living benefits and they’re definition-based,” said Clark. “Those parts of our offer are important, and we spend a lot of time thinking about them.”

Clark added that there had been a general move away from total and permanent disablement, because the complexity of a lump-sum payment places a lot of responsibility into the member’s hands.

“There has been a trend in recent years for [superannuation] trustees to look more for income protection and income replacement benefits to sustain a member over a longer period in the event of any disablement, and I think that’s a good strategy,” Clark said.

OnePath took out second place in the disability income section with its OneCare Income Secure Standard product.

A key feature of OnePath’s income protection offering was that it was “slowly but surely” catering for certain occupations so they could be covered up to age 70, according to OnePath head of product marketing and reinsurance, Gerard Kerr.

“We see more and more people looking to take out income protection. It’s one of these contracts that applies to every single person, because every person wants to protect their income, whether you’re married, single, old or middle-aged,” Kerr said.

Kerr added that OnePath had received a lot of positive feedback from advisers about its default special fiduciary benefit.

“So when fractures or breakages happen, that’s automatically paid out. It’s inbuilt into the contract, so you don’t have to worry about adding it in as an option,” he said.

AIA Australia rounded out the category with its Priority Protection – Income Protection PLUS plan. AIA head of product management Tim Tez said his company took a ‘customer first’ approach to its product development process, and even considered the feedback of people who didn’t support AIA’s products.

Tez added that AIA includes specified injuries within its PLUS contract. He said AIA could potentially cover people for up to $60,000 a month.

“We also have features like an income protection lump sum … that converts income payments, if people so choose, into a lump sum benefit that’s paid to them tax-free,” Tez said.