riskinfo has recognised the top three initiatives that it has reported during 2012.
Each of these initiatives has contributed to enhancing the life insurance and broader financial services industry for advisers and consumers. They have been motivated by individuals and organisations seeking better ways of delivering information and/or services to advisers and their clients.
Our top three initiatives for 2012, each of them positioned as ‘industry firsts’, are:
- BT Insurance Trauma Tele-Claims Service
- Launch of Business Risk Institute Australia
- MLC Split Underwriting Service
BT Insurance Trauma Tele-Claims Service
In April, we reported that BT Insurance (BT) had launched its new telephone-based service to accommodate trauma insurance claims.
Heralded as an Australian first, the trauma tele-claims service can be used by policy owners to claim up to $250,000 on certain trauma conditions. The service is available for policies that have been in place for five years or more, and follows the launch of BT’s income protection tele-claims service.
At the time we reported this initiative, BT said it had processed 16% of all trauma claims over the phone. Head of Life Insurance at BT Financial Group, Phil Hay, said that processing time for trauma tele-claims had been reduced to an average of 14 days, compared to 68 days for a paper-based claim.
… it’s about understanding the needs of our customers
“The fact that we have the ability now to assess and pay a claim through a phone based system without the need for the customer to fill in a claim form is not just about ease of process it’s about understanding the needs of our customers and providing a service that is sensitive to their situation,” he said.
Launch of Business Risk Institute Australia
Business Risk Institute Australia (BRIA) is a newly-created service organisation, launched in late July. It is designed to offer advisers a new approach to achieving success within the field of business succession planning advice.
Historically, the concept of business estate and succession planning has been perceived by many advisers as a ‘tough nut to crack’, and has therefore suffered from a lack of advisers who have embraced this type of advice proposition.
While the organisation is still in its infancy, it gets our vote because of its innovative structure, which includes the opportunity for less-experienced advisers to access mentoring from senior industry practitioners, as well as follow-up support that will not cease until the adviser has achieved successful outcomes. The advice process that BRIA has designed is also highly innovative in the way that it offers a different perspective for clients and prospective clients to consider their business succession issues and solutions.
… we want to add the wisdom
Congrats to BRIA Directors, Steve Currie and Doug Sumner; Mr Sumner delivering one of the quotes of the year, when he told riskinfo: “There are already some good ‘knowledge’ courses available, … but we want to add the wisdom.”
MLC Split Underwriting Service
In October, we reported that MLC had instituted an excellent underwriting initiative called RiskFirst Rapid, as part of its upgraded insurance offer. The insurer called this a ‘market first’, in which an adviser can elect to split their client’s application into two stages, allowing the portion of cover below mandatory medical and financial requirement levels to be issued faster. The balance of the proposed insurance cover is then assessed, subject to normal underwriting requirements.
riskinfo sees this as a thoughtful, genuinely client-focused innovation, and perhaps one that has not received the recognition it deserves. We look forward to reporting, in future, the progress of this service, and the value we think it will add to the client experience as they travel the sometimes difficult path associated with underwriting and policy issue.
We also look forward to reporting on many more initiatives and innovations in 2013, but we see much of the industry’s excess resources being channelled into ensuring compliance with the Future of Financial Advice (FoFA) reform legislation, much of which is slated for implementation from 1 July 2013. So, it is possible that many, or most initiatives next year, may emerge during the second half of 2013, after the dust has settled on the first round of FoFA implementation. In the meantime, our congratulations again to the three best initiatives in 2012.
