Tower Life Insurance Australia Rebranded as TAL
Tower life insurance was rebranded as TAL almost 6 years ago.
By acquiring companies like PrefSure and Lumley, Tower Australia transformed into a big player in the industry. As its customers increased and products became more refined and sought after the company needed to set themselves apart with a distinctive brand and so, TAL was born.
If you have a Tower policy (Tower Protection Policy, Partner Insurance Portfolio) or one from a company previously purchased by them (Prefsure Life Insurance Portfolio) you’re probably a bit anxious in searching for a Tower contact number.
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When did TOWER Life Insurance become TAL?
TOWER was rebranded as TAL in 2011, but its journey got started almost 148 years ago in 1869 in New Zealand.
The company entered Australia in 1990, after which its Australian arm purchased PrefSure, a South African company best known for acquiring Lumley Life Insurance in 2003. Both businesses, Lumley and PrefSure, were now merged and managed under a single brand.
After that, the New Zealand arm of TOWER separated from their Australian counterpart and TOWER Australia was listed on the Australian Stock Exchange, where it was identified as Tower Australia Ltd, where TAL was their ASX ticker code during this time.
It was agreed that Tower Australia could continue to use the TOWER name and logo for the next 5 years preceding the separation but needed their own identity by 2011.
In 2011 they became part of the Dai-ichi Life Group and was finally rebranded as TAL, Australia’s specialist voice of life insurance.
This acquisition enabled TOWER to expand their reach and provide a diverse range of products, including life insurance, risk, superannuation and retirement solutions.
What does this mean for existing Tower policy holders?
The change in name does not have any adverse effects on your current policy, and it will continue to be actively managed. Although at the time, TAL tried to transfer a number of Tower policy holders across to their new product series, thousands chose to remain on their original policies.
However, these original policies have become a legacy product, which means that the product is closed to new customers and will generally increase quicker in price than rest of the market due to the high maintenance and claims costs.
If you have such a legacy policy, as described above, it’s important that you review your cover to ensure it is still keeping pace with your current needs and budget, while providing effective protection for you and your family. Although legacy product can be reduced, you can never increase your cover amount (excluding CPI increases).
Frequently asked questions
If you have an old policy like Tower, Partner Life or Lumley you’ll generally be able to reduce the cover amount and premium, however, you cannot increase your cover because these policies are now legacy products and cannot be increased or restructured. If you do want to increase or restructure your policy, you will have to obtain a new policy.
As TAL has taken over full responsibility of the businesses they acquired, all insurance including Lumley Life’s Personal Superannuation Fund and PrefSure Life’s Personal Superannuation Fund are now to be referred to as TAL Superannuation and Insurance Fund.
Yes, you can. TAL looks after more than 3.7 million Australian residents and has paid out over $1 billion in claims in 2015 alone. Throughout the years of acquisitions and mergers, TAL has grown in strength, and although your policy may remain under its original name, you still receive 100% backing from TAL.
When claiming you simply need to contact TAL on 1800 209 016 and you’ll be connected with a claims manager that will help you through the process every step of the way.
If your policy was taken through your super fund or employer, you first need to contact them directly.
It’s a smart practice to review all your insurance policies on a regular basis, especially when entering a new stage of life. You might want to upgrade, add additional cover or lower premiums depending on your specific situation.
So, it might be worth your while to review your policy and make sure it still stacks up to the competitively priced policies available today.
We have funeral cover with TOWER but because we are on a pension aged we are finding it very had to find the large amount fortnightly payments and each year our premiums go up a bit more.
Most companies on TV say that there is no increase with age. We have had our policy for over 25 years. What can be done to help us?
Thanks, Sandra and John Symonds
Hi Sandra,
Thank you for sharing your concern with us.
While I am not familiar with you and John’s specific circumstances and requirements, for example, the level of cover you need, I do understand how frustrating it can be to find the right funeral cover when you’re on a budget.
Many old style funeral insurance policies only offered stepped premiums, which increases as you age. However, some insurers will allow you to change from stepped premiums to level premiums, which doesn’t increase as you age.
As a first step, it would be best to contact TOWER, now rebranded TAL, to understand your options and whether they can assist you in providing a level premium structure.
Be sure to ask if their level premiums are capped, meaning once the premiums you’ve paid equals the benefit amount you’re covered for, you won’t have to pay any more premiums but will still receive coverage.
It might also be worth your while to have a read of our article listing the alternative ways you can cover the cost of your funeral.
If you do want funeral insurance offering level premiums that are capped and TAL is not able to assist you, please fill in the quote form above and one of our consultant’s will help you. You can also contact us directly on 1300 135 205 if you prefer.
Could you please provide me with details regarding a life policy for my deceased mother:
Mary Frances Castles, Policy no. 557*** With Lumley Life Ltd.
I have in my possession a policy statement dated 20/04/1990, for the period ended 28/02/1990.
Could you please confirm if this policy was in existence at the time of my mother’s death on 10/05 2010.
Yours Faithfully
Arthur Castles
Thank you for your question Arthur. Our condolences to you and your family.
We have searched our CRM software and it looks like your late mum was not a client of ours. We would suggest contacting TAL directly, as they have taken over Lumley Life in 2003.
Another place you may want to search is in ASIC’s MoneySmart website, Find Unclaimed Money. While this will not be as accurate as contacting TAL directly, potentially your query could be solved there.
Hi. I currently have a life insurance policy with you. Can you tell me what it covers? Is it life insurance only or sickness and injury as well? Looking to consolidate my policies as I have a number of them. Regards Stuart.
Hi Stuart.
I have queried our CRM software and it does not look like you are a client of ours. To determine with whom you have an insurance policy you might want to:
•Search your files and other storage places to see if there are any insurance related documents.
•Review your bank statements and see if any regular payments are made to a life insurance company.
•Check your mail and email. You’re sure to have received regular correspondence from your insurer.
I hope this helps.
I’ve lost track of my payment schedule and would like a new schedule emailed to me.
Thank you in advance.
Hi Brian,
We have searched our CRM software and it does not show that you are a client of ours. However, if you have a Tower life insurance policy, now rebranded as TAL, it might be best to contact them directly.
Hi. I would like to know the status of my Policy 855 00 ***. I am pretty confused about the policy as I am not sure whether I have one or not.
Thanks, Mare
Hi Mare,
We’ve done a search on our client base and you do not have a policy with us I’m afraid. You might want to try searching your email inbox as insurance companies do frequently contact their customers with news and updates.