Simplicity is a key focus for Zurich in the release of new income protection product propositions for its Zurich and OnePath brand range of products.
Designed, according to the insurer, for clarity, affordability and certainty, all changes take effect from 27 September 2021, with the release of the respective Product Disclosure Statements.
Noting the alignment of its products with APRA’s sustainability measures, the insurer advises both new products – the newly-named Zurich Income Safeguard, together with OnePath Life’s updated Income Secure Protection range – offer a 70% replacement ratio and are complemented by what the insurer says are a comprehensive range of rehabilitation services.
Reflecting on the need to both satisfy community expectations whilst correctly pricing its products, Zurich also noted some of the core principles it considered in developing the products:
- Meeting Australians’ expectations around the value of life insurance and its role as a community good, which helps people avoid hardship and provides a mid-term support to enable people to reset a path to return to work or restructure their finances
- A recognition of the health and wellbeing benefits of good work
- A recognition that returning to health is a unique journey for every claimant, and offering rehabilitation services to support each claimant provides a more holistic customer offering
- Removal of product complexity, to improve understanding and administration
…in 2020, there were more income protection claims than death/TPD and trauma insurance claims combine
Giving perspective to the importance of income protection insurance from a claims stand-point, Zurich emphasises in its fact sheets that in 2020, there were more income protection claims than death/TPD and trauma insurance claims combined.
In being afforded the opportunity to effectively re-set its income protection insurance offer, courtesy of APRA’s IP intervention, Chief Distribution Officer, Zurich Life & Investments, Kieran Forde, said, “The requirements provided an opportunity for us to start afresh in designing solutions that get to the heart of what Australians need from their income protection policy.”
Zurich Change Navigator
Accompanying the release of the new IP product propositions, Zurich has launched a new online initiative – the Zurich Change Navigator, which has been designed to deliver “…a one-stop knowledge and resource centre, to help our partners understand – and adapt to – the many significant changes coming to our life insurance offerings later this year and in 2022.”
In addition to providing further support around the new income protection insurance landscape, other areas in which resources are to be provided by this service include:
- New Design and Distribution Obligations
- Moving to the customer’s ‘duty to take reasonable care’, rather than their ‘duty of disclosure’
- Fairer, more sustainable pricing issues
Advisers can take these links to the new Zurich and OnePath PDSs:
OnePath OneCare PDS 27 September 2021
Zurich Wealth Protection PDS 27 September 2021
Also click the images below for fact sheets and adviser support brochures:
