OnePath will waive life insurance premiums for two months for farmers, and those in rural and regional towns who provide services to the farming community, effective immediately.
The premium waiver will apply for OnePath customers with a OneCare, pre OneCare or Direct Life non-super policy who are suffering from financial hardship due to the drought, according to information released by ANZ.
Financial advisers who may have a client with a OnePath policy and is in financial difficulty have been asked to contact their Business Development Manager to arrange the waiver, which may be extended in cases of severe financial difficulty.
ANZ has also offered policy holders further relief if they hold other products with the bank and mental health and wellness tools for advisers and their clients.
In related news, OnePath has extended the support provided to retail life insurance clients who have made a mental health claim through their TPD insurance.
The service provides a personalised claims service where a qualified nurse helps claimants fill in their form at home, and ANZ Head of Mental Health and Wellness, Life Insurance Maria Falas said customer satisfaction with the support had grown since its introduction for OnePath income protection clients in June 2017.
“Customer feedback demonstrates the value and benefits of giving our clients access to additional expert support to help them fill in their mental health claim forms,” Falas said, adding ,“Our clients have told us this service has led to improved peace of mind, reduced anxiety, greater transparency and a feeling of confidence that it is being done correctly.”
Falas said extending mental health support to OnePath’s TPD clients was important given the predicted growth in mental illness cases across Australia, and which currently account for about 20 per cent of OnePath’s TPD claims.
“It is important that those in the position of protecting people’s lives and financial wellbeing make changes now to ensure customers can receive the protection they need, when they need it,” Falas said.
