AMP has announced more than 30 product and service enhancements to its Flexible Lifetime – Protection product.
The insurer says the enhancements were made because it is committed to:
- Providing insurance for more Australians
- Making the insurer easier to do business with
- Delivering on promises to both advisers and customers
- Improving AMP’s competitive position
“These developments are designed to ensure AMP’s insurance offering continues to be contemporary and compelling to our existing and new customers,” AMP Director of Wealth Protection Products, Michael Paff, said.
AMP said the enhancements will also be passed on to over 170,000 existing customers, who will be automatically upgraded at no additional cost.
Additionally, because of the product’s Automatic Plan Enhancement feature, existing customers receive the enhancements without a “pre-existing conditions exclusion”. AMPexplainns this means any claims that existing customers make after 28 March which are payable under an improved definition cannot be denied on the basis that it was a pre-existing condition.
Product Enhancements
Trauma cover
Improvement to the Trauma Cover Coronary Artery Angioplasty partial benefit, which means it can now be paid more than once, provided the procedures occur at least 6 months apart.
AMP has also upgraded a number of cancer definitions and removed the “drug and alcohol exclusion” from its Cardiomyopathy, Coma and Liver Failure definitions.
Income Protection cover
Income Protection underwriting limits have been raised, and underwriting has relaxed the circumstances in which a medical report needs to be requested, which AMP says will result in a shorter decision making process.
The insurer has also introduced a graduate offer for Income Protection, meaning graduates in certain professions can take out agreed value cover (up to specified limits) on commencement of their first job, without the need to provide 12 month’s worth of evidence of income.
Other income protection enhancements include:
- An upgrade to the Guaranteed Future Insurability benefit which allows customers to increase their cover by up to 10% (to a maximum of $1,500 per month)
- The introduction of more trauma feature conditions, including the addition of occupationally acquired HIV and Hepatitis B and C.
Service Enhancements
In the area of service, AMP has extended its phone based Claims Concierge Service (launched last year), which enables customers and planners to lodge a claim 24 hours a day and receive a response within 24 hours. AMP says it has met its promise to notify clients regarding decisions for Income Protection claims by the next day in almost 90% of cases.
The extension means customers and advisers can now notify AMP of a claim via the AMP website. Once the notification has been submitted the claims assessor responsible for the management of the claim will call the next day to facilitate the claim process.
Other service enhancements include:
- A restructure within the underwriting team, and recruitment of a number of regional underwriters, to better support all planner channels
- New step by step guides for customers to walk them through the claims process.
Group Insurance Enhancements
AMP has also made four improvements to its group insurance offer, including allowing Automatic Acceptance on plans with five or more members and increasing premium discounts on plans with up to 800 members.
“These upgrades are about making it easier for new group clients to gain access to insurance,” Mr Paff said.
All the enhancements are effective 28 March 2011.
