When competitors ‘zig’, OnePath tends to ‘zag’ and it has worked for the company once again, with its Trauma Premier cover getting the top spot in this year’s Money Management/Dexx&r Adviser Choice Risk Award for trauma products.
ANZ Wealth head of retail risk, marketing and reinsurance, Gerard Kerr said OnePath keeps its eye on advances in medical technology due to the potential impact on its services, particularly in the trauma space.
What Kerr sees as a winning feature is OnePath’s decision to bring the payment forward at claim time.
“If someone is covered for cancer, we don’t insist – which a lot of people do – that the person gets treatment before they get paid,” Kerr said.
“It gives the client the piece of mind and confidence that they’ll get paid,” Kerr added.
“Secondly, it gives them choice – they can perhaps go and get better treatment than they would otherwise have had.”
This was part of OnePath’s upgrade in May this year, which saw the insurer build on existing technological foundations, rather than dismantling the model and building it all over again.
“This makes it easier for the adviser, because they’ve got a steady stream of consistency,” Gerard said.
Clearview’s LifeSolutions Trauma Plus was also deemed one of the best in the market, winning silver in this category.
ClearView head of products and underwriting, Clive Liventhal said this product tried to deliver a range of what the company regarded as the best features in the market and discourage planners from shopping elsewhere, adding a layer of innovation on top of that.
ClearView has allowed premiums to be paid by undertaking rollovers from any superannuation fund.
“So you can tap into your preserved money to pay for your premiums, which helps with take-home pay and affordability for customers,” Liventhal said.
“Within that you can structure your cover very flexibly, so you might want to have trauma cover outside of super and link it to life cover inside super, and we offer that flexibility.”
From an insurer’s point of view, risk trauma is about staying relevant, according to head of life insurance at BT, Phil Hay.
BT Life Living Insurance Plus received Bronze in this year’s Adviser Choice Risk Awards for Trauma.
“It’s about making sure that when we put the product together, it’s relevant for the client, but also helps the financial adviser make sure they put forward the best interest of the client,” Hay said.
Hay added BT Life has been working at improving their trauma reinstatement offer.
“For those clients that are unlucky enough to be stuck with the same illness or condition, they’ll continue to get a new benefit for their trauma,” he said.
“Furthermore, trauma is not limited just for the life-insured; so if their child becomes sick or injured, they are covered.”
