On 1 October 2016 the Life Insurance: Code of Conduct commenced operation, with a transition period until 30 June 2017. All Life Insurer’s are now bound by and should be following the provisions of the Code of Conduct.
If you have been self-acting in a total and permanent disability (TPD) claim you may not have realised that there are many provisions on the Code of Conduct that could assist you in having your TPD assessed by the Insurer much more quickly and efficiently.
So what is the Code of Conduct? The Code provides a framework for Life Insurers (for policies such as income protection, total and permanent disability, death and trauma insurance) to standardise their conduct when dealing with and assessing claims.
The Code of Conduct covers just about all aspects of an insurance policy from product design, buying insurance, regular communications and making claims. The Code of Conduct contains principles designed to improve disclosure to policy holders, provide better transparency, decide claims within set timeframes, limit the use of surveillance and provide additional support you need to make an insurance claim.
If you are making a TPD claim then you would be most interested in Chapter 8 of the Code.
There are now set timelines that the Insurer must comply with:-
When performing assessments the Life Insurer will only ask for and rely on information and assessments that are relevant to your claim and policy, for example, financial, occupational and medical information. If you disagree with the relevance of any information, the Life Insurer will review your request, and if you are not satisfied with the review you can make a Complaint.
The Life Insurer can ask you for a written authority to obtain information from Doctors, treatment providers and your employer. If you are concerned with access to private information you can instead authorise the Life Insurer to request particular information from particular sources, however, this may cause delays in the assessment of your claim.
If the Life Insurer needs you to attend an independent medical examination:
The Life Insurer may from time to time conduct surveillance on you. If they do then the Code puts in place certain guidelines:
If you need help with your TPD claim, the Life Insurer is not complying with the set timelines, or can’t quite get your head around the Code of Conduct then contact one our superannuation specialists on 1300 285 888.
Unit 10
88 Limestone St
Ipswich 4305
Queensland
Ph: 07 3816 9555
GE Building,
Level 1, 6 Yoga Way
Springfield Central 4300
Queensland
Ph: 07 3470 3600
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