MetLife Australia Partners with Financial Literacy Program

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MetLife Australia has participated in UNSW’s innovative Sandbox Program that brings industry and students together to co-create solutions for business problems.

A statement from the insurer says that it challenged the students to develop ideas to get superannuation fund members to engage with their insurance inside super to make sure they have adequate insurance for their life stage.

Wendy Tse… life insurance is not something that is set and forget.

MetLife Chief of Staff, Strategy and External Affairs Wendy Tse says life insurance “…is not something that is set and forget. We should continuously reconsider coverage levels based on life events and changing circumstances.”

The company notes that a recent NMG report estimates there are one million Australians underinsured for Death/Total and Permanent Disability and 3.4 million underinsured for income protection.

…poor financial literacy levels are contributing to this disengagement…

It says poor financial literacy levels are contributing to this disengagement, with Australians scoring an average of 68% on the Government’s Financial Capability dashboard.

Tse says improving peoples’ financial literacy “…so they feel protected and in control of their finances is central to MetLife’s purpose of helping people live a more confident future.”

The winning solution focused on using emotive messages to gain peoples’ attention, while giving members a target ‘nudge’ at specific life stages to review their coverage. It also proposed using simple language when communicating with members to help improve their financial literacy.

Deputy Director of the UNSW Sandbox Program and Undergraduate Actuarial Program Director, UNSW Business School, Kevin Liu says the Sandbox Program provides a platform that facilitates the tripartite collaborations among industry, academics, and students.

He says it is fantastic to partner with industry leaders like MetLife which is “…passionate and committed to work with academics and students to deliver a transformative educational experience and empower young talents to co-create solutions for real-world challenges.”

Tse added that MetLife believes success is about “…continuing to experiment and unearth new ideas. The program has been a fantastic opportunity get a fresh perspective while contributing to the students’ learning experience.”