TAL launches cancer education course
TAL’s Risk Academy has launched an education course that prepares financial advisers to better understand cancer, which is the largest claim category for the life insurer.
The course focuses on understanding the staging, diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of cancer as well as the medical terminology relevant to both underwriting and when assessing product definition requirements at claims time.
TAL general manager for health services, Dr Sally Phillips, said: “We want to lead the industry in understanding medical conditions such as cancer, and one way we are doing this is by equipping our adviser partners with the knowledge and tools they need to get the best outcomes for clients that are at risk of, or faced with, cancer”.
“Cancer represents the largest category of claims for TAL and it costs Australia more than $4.8 billion per year in direct health system costs,” Phillips said.
“We know the devastating impact it can have on the lives of individuals and their families, and there is value in a financial adviser helping people through their cancer journey.”
She said the course aimed to up-skill advisers on the specifics of the medical condition so they could help clients choose the right insurance cover for their situation and lifestyles at underwriting time and best support clients if they needed to claim.
The course explains the minimum definitions for cancer set out by the Life Insurance Code of Practice and provides references that advisers can use to quantify the financial impact of cancer on their clients.
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