Suncorp targets women with new policy
Suncorp Wealth Management has launched a new risk offering specifically aimed at women and covering female trauma issues such as osteoporosis, pregnancy complications and a range of childhood conditions.
Female Benefit Plus, as it is known, is available as an optional benefit to a comprehensive trauma insurance policy with the group, with the financial services firm claiming the new benefit is one of the first products of its kind in the Australian market.
“The need for female specific trauma insurance has been growing with the increased risk of female specific conditions being detected in the community, and the need to help provide protection to women and their families,” Suncorp Wealth Management general manager Matthew Lobdell says.
“We have taken our product one step further and have included additional benefits that cover childhood anomalies such as spina bifida and down syndrome, and pregnancy complications such as eclampsia and ectopic pregnancy,” he adds.
Despite the unique nature of some of the above ailments however, Lobdell says individuals must also ensure they protect themselves and their families financially against other health issues that affect Australians.
Referring to statistics by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare and the Australian Association of Cancer Registries, Lobdell supports his claim by saying there are 85,000 new cases of cancer and 374,000 cases of non-melanoma skin cancer diagnosed in Australia each year.
“Although these statistics are quite compelling, they don’t necessarily indicate that rate of death is also increasing. A policy covering trauma conditions offers peace of mind and has a significant impact on the choice, flexibility and financial situation of insured victims in the event of a trauma incident.”
According to Suncorp, at present, there are more than 6.3 million Australians with life, trauma and income protection insurance.
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