Asteron Life has announced initiatives designed to deliver upgraded benefits and better customer experiences.
“Suncorp is committed to working with independent advisers in providing market-leading products and services to help customers to live life with confidence,” said Mr Chris McHugh, Executive General Manager of Suncorp’s Personal Injury portfolio.
A proof point for this is the announcement of three significant enhancements to the Asteron Life Complete (ALC) product; including being the first retail insurance product to adopt an ‘unlikely to survive more than 24 months’ terminal illness definition for super and non-super policies and to pass this back to existing ALC customers.
“Key definitions have been revised, including a 24 month terminal illness definition for both super and non-super policies, providing customers with better protection and access to benefits at no added cost,” Mr McHugh said.
“We see real value in ensuring Asteron Life Complete customers have access to a terminal illness benefit earlier and aligning to the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) (SIS) conditions of release for cover structured through super. We believe when faced with a terminal illness, this benefit can make a significant difference to customer lives, allowing them to focus on the important things, like time with family.”
In addition to the Terminal Illness Benefit improvement, the coronary artery angioplasty and melanoma definitions have also been upgraded for both new and existing Asteron Life Complete customers. (See below for details).
Asteron Complete Life product definition changes
The survival period for the Terminal Illness Benefit has been extended, so a claim can be paid where the insured is unlikely to survive more than 24 months after certification of an illness or condition. Previously the payment was provided where the insured did not survive more than 12 months.
The Partial Trauma Benefit and the definition of Coronary artery angioplasty have been extended. We can pay:
1. The full Trauma Benefit if the insured undergoes a triple vessel angioplasty performed during one or more procedures, which occur within a two-month period. Previously the triple vessel angioplasty had to be performed during the same procedure); or
2. A Partial Trauma Benefit for each one or two vessel angioplasty without any time restriction between claims, allowing for multiple Partial Trauma Benefit claims for different angioplasty events. Previously each subsequent angioplasty procedure had to occur at least six months after the previous angioplasty procedure).
The criteria for a Melanoma, within the Cancer definition, has been relaxed to now consider a Breslow thickness of at least 1.0mm (previously 1.5mm was required). If all other criteria is met, we can pay:
1. A full Trauma Benefit or Crisis Benefit where a melanoma is at least 1.0mm Breslow thickness.
2. A Partial Trauma Benefit where a melanoma has less than 1.0mm Breslow thickness.
A new Asteron Life Complete Supplementary Product Disclosure Statement will apply to new business from 1 September 2016.
