SUPPORTING OUR VULNERABLE CUSTOMERS

We know our customers may find themselves in circumstances, at different times in their lives, where they need extra support.

Vulnerability is a personal situation, where people are exposed and susceptible to harm or loss. Everyone may experience being vulnerable in their life and its impacts can be experienced differently. Customer vulnerability involves an inter-play of personal and environmental circumstances, market practices and the actions of our organisation.

Customer vulnerability can be caused through many situations such as:

Training
We provide appropriate training to all our staff and service suppliers who:

• Engage with customers
• Are managers of staff who engage with customers, and who are responsible for who this engagement occurs
• Are responsible for the development of products, processes and systems

Our training considers the nature of consequences of your situation, how to identify the signs of vulnerability, how to engage effectively and appropriately with affected customers and how to apply this policy.

We review and update our training regularly and as required.

Private and Confidential Information

We are committed to security of your personal information and will engage with you to determine your preferred methods of communication. We will minimise the need for customers to repeat disclosure.

You can ask a support person to contact us, such as a financial or legal counsellor, your Insurance broker or any one else you deem appropriate. We need your permission to talk to your support person, so if you wish to have them act on your behalf you will need to provide us with a written “Letter of Authority” that confirms this.

WHAT TO DO IF YOU’RE EXPERIENCING DIFFICULTY

The first step is to discuss the matter with your insurance broker or support person and they can contact us for you or with you. You can also contact us direct if you prefer. We have a number of support measures and resources available to support you.

Financial Hardship Support

We understand that financial difficulty can affect anyone. We believe in treating our customers with respect, empathy and in a non-judgemental manner.

In addition to the Code’s existing requirements about Financial Hardship, we will fast-track the financial hardship request and provide options for the customer to retain their policy if they say they cannot pay their premium.