Mandatory insurance limits cut

MLC Insurance has sought to improve its mandatory medical limits by reducing the number of medical examinations and blood tests required by up to 30 per cent.

MLC head of underwriting Tracey Crowe said the enhancements were a result of a large-scale review on past underwriting decisions across all of MLC’s retail product lines, to determine areas for improvement.

According to Crowe, the study showed that if the limits were too high, there was the risk of jeopardising the viability of current premium rates.

“We believe premium rate volatility has become a serious issue for the industry,” she said.

“Our extensive analysis of more than 2,000 files confirmed that there is a direct relationship between mandatory underwriting limits, the number and type of claims, and premium rates.”

The new mandatory limits apply to lump sum insurance cover in MLC’s main individual retail insurance offerings: MLC Personal Protection Portfolio (PPP) and MLC Life Cover Super (LCS).

The changes will see applicants up to age 40 needing only to provide a ‘personal health statement’ for sums insured of up to $2.5 million for life cover and total and permanent disability (TPD) policies, and similarly need only provide a statement for sums insured of up to $1 million for critical illness policies.