Why you should have a financial adviser help you with your life or disablement insurance claims?

By David Slovinec

People dread the claims process. Across society, it seems, we assume that it’s convoluted, time-consuming and, at the end of it all, often unsuccessful. But the truth is far different. In reality, insurance companies try to pay claims, and when a financial adviser is attached, the success rate skyrockets.

Below, we take a look at the reasons why adviser-assisted life insurance claims are so often paid, and exactly what it means to have an adviser attached to your policy.

Improve your chance of a successful insurance claim with an adviser

APRA have conducted surveys to specifically compare advised to non-advised insurance claims, and the results are very clear.

 AdvisedNon-advised
Cover type% successful% successful
Death98%92%
TPD87%77%
Trauma88%84%
Income protection95%89%
Source: APRA Life Insurance Claims and Statistics for the Year Ending 31 December 2022

Financial adviser-assisted insurance claims have a very high likelihood of being paid. So why is this? And what role does the adviser play?

What does having an adviser attached to your policy mean?

It simply means that, when it comes time to make a claim on your policy, your adviser will take control of the process. What that entails we cover below. You can nominate an adviser to an existing policy or talk to an adviser first about which policies are right for you.

You don’t have to be a client of ours to take advantage of this service. You can simply nominate us as your adviser or third party and then pay a small fee when it comes time to make a claim, we can manage it for you.

The benefits of a claims adviser

Advisers remove roadblocks

Broadly speaking, advisers make insurance claims faster and smoother. One of the biggest hold-ups when making a claim is not supplying the right documentation, or not having that documentation correctly filled out. We know what to ask for up front, and we know how it needs to look before it’s sent through to the insurers.

Doctors’ reports and financial reports are two of the best examples of common hold-ups. Accountants and doctors are, obviously, experts in their respective fields. But knowing the medical ins-and-outs of a particular cancer diagnosis is not the same as knowing what information an insurer needs. The same goes for financial records.

But advisers do. When we are assisting with a claim, we make sure that anyone supplying necessary documents knows precisely what information is needed. We then examine the documents before they go off to the insurer, and – importantly – make sure all the necessary information is sent across at the same time. The dribs-and-drabs method only drags things out.

We provide peace of mind

Claims are made because something bad has happened. Whether it’s a cancer diagnosis, a traumatic injury or something else altogether, your physical, mental and emotional health will be sapped. The only question is by how much.

The last thing anyone in this position wants to do is handle the administration of a claim. Making phone calls and ensuring you know what information is needed by the insurer – and where to get that information – is an extra layer of stress you don’t need at this particular point in your life.

An adviser can take this burden off your shoulders. Knowing that somebody else is taking care of your claim – an expert in the field who knows precisely what to do – can provide some peace of mind and allow you to focus on your health and wellbeing.

““Income Protection has proven to be such a blessing indeed, and I can’t imagine the situation we’d be in if we didn’t have it. Many thanks to Pride for their management, guidance and overseeing of my claim.” – HP

“I have recently been diagnosed with cancer and am now undergoing chemotherapy. My doctor has told me I will need at least a year off of work due to the nature of what I do. Pride Advice has helped me to make a claim on my insurances and thankfully I now have an ongoing income and a lump sum in my bank account. This has taken a lot of pressure off financially and I can now just concentrate on getting well. I am very grateful that I had good cover in place and some support during this challenging time in my life.” – DH

We are here to help you

We simply aren’t familiar enough with our policies to ensure we’re claiming all the benefits that we’re paying premiums for.

A classic example is Income Protection insurance. Isn’t this just for injuries or illness that forces you to take time off from work? Not necessarily. Some policies have specific injuries written into it that you can claim a payment on even if that injury doesn’t force you to take time off work.

The reality is, we don’t know what we don’t know. Advisers can run their eye over your policies to make sure you claim what’s yours. You’re paying these premiums for a reason. Don’t leave potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars on the table because you simply weren’t aware.

We can also review your super funds to see if you have any insurances you aren’t aware of.

Heard about a better deal? Wait – and talk to an adviser first

On October 1st, 2021, a raft of new regulations was introduced to the insurance industry. In jargon speak, we refer to policies from before this date as ‘old world’ and policies that come after as ‘new world’. Many new world policies have premiums that seriously undercut those of old world policies. Because of this, many are thinking of switching over.

This, in all likelihood, is a mistake. The cheaper premiums invariably come with a different kind of cost – inadequate coverage. For example, an old world policy might pay out at 75% of your income. A new world policy is more likely to be around 70%, which will then decrease the longer the claim lasts, dropping to as little as 50% in some cases.

We get it, though. Inflation and cost-of-living pressures make a $200-a-month saving on insurance premiums extraordinarily tempting. But the true cost of these premiums is usually inadequate coverage when you need it most. Always have a discussion with your adviser first before switching policies. There may be ways to keep your current policy but reduce the premiums by, for example, extending waiting periods.

By and large, if clients have an old world policy, we try and keep them on it.

Talk to an adviser and know what you’re covered for

Insurance isn’t life changing. In fact, it’s there to maintain normalcy as far as possible when tragedy strikes. But, in order for it to do this, we have to know our policies and the coverage they provide. An adviser can not only do this, but tell you if the coverage is adequate for your circumstances, and make the claims process more efficient and more likely to result in a payout.

At Pride Advice, we have extensive experience in the insurance world. Andrew and his team can guide you through a claims process or even just run our eye over your current policies to see if they provide good coverage. We can be involved as much or as little as you like. Give us a call and change your attitude to one of life’s most important buffers.

At Pride, we have successfully managed and had approved close to six million dollars worth of insurance claims in the 2023 calendar year.

To have your insurances reviewed or discuss a claim, please contact us at 08 8168 8450 or email us at admin@prideadvice.com.au.