Insurers don’t pay claims, do they?

I strongly believe that my clients and their families should hold suitable personal insurances such as Death cover, Income Protection insurance and Critical Illness insurance. I’ve seen first hand the financial and emotional consequences of death, injury or illness.

One of the objections I often come across, though, is the perception that insurance companies don’t pay claims and try and get out of paying at all costs.  The fact is that I’ve never come across a valid claim with a reputable insurance company that hasn’t been paid. In fact I’ve even seen a few that were paid by insurers even though they didn’t technically have to!

I thought I’d share an email that a major Australian life insurer sent to a client recently.  It goes to show that dealing with reputable insurers means you’re dealing with organisations that have a culture of helping rather than avoiding their responsibilities.

My name is  (name withheld) , I work for (name withheld) Life Insurance, I am trying to phone you to discuss your income protection policy and to see if you have some time to discuss your current circumstances in a little more detail, to help determine if there is likely to be a claim payable. 

I have been trying to phone you on the contact numbers we have, and have been unable to reach you. If you have a mobile number you are happy to share with me, could you email this to me and I can give you a call to discuss a possible claim under you policy. 

I understand that you have requested a cancellation of your policy, I also understand that based on the information we have, there may be a claim payable under one of your income protection covers. I would like to try and make sure that you receive a benefit from us if you meet the policy terms, as I can see that you have held the policy for 17 years and it would be a shame if you paid your premiums for all this time and did not claim when you were in need of assistance.

I understand that you are concerned regarding the cost of the premiums, I wanted to make sure you know that you also have Premium Waiver Cover under this policy. Premium Waiver insurance enables all premiums on a policy to be waived where the insured is disabled or retrenched. Premium Waiver insurance is only available for Life Cover, Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) and Critical Illness insurance. However, if your income protection claim is accepted, the income protection premium will also be waived while you are receiving benefits.

I don’t wish to place any pressure on you, so if you don’t get back to me or (name withheld) insurance over the next month (20/11/2017), we will proceed with the policy cancellation, but I just wanted to make sure that we had explained the terms of your policy clearly so that you receive any assistance that you are entitled to.

So who says insurance company try to avoid paying claims.

Start a conversation with us today if you have any queries about your current insurances in place, or if you simply want more information on cover options that suit you, your lifestyle and your future.