A New Zealand family moved to Australia, took out an OnePath policy which only provided cover for Australian Citizens and Permanent Australian Residents. This product was a Direct Life policy and was not the retail product that you currently have (and this is the policy we currently use for our clients wanting OnePath Cover) which is the OneCare policy range which is a fully underwritten policy.
The Visa that the family was on at the time the policy was taken out was a temporary Visa, and as such, the policy was deemed to be invalid. A complaint was lodged, and now a full refund of premiums paid was provided to the customer (approximately $20,000). The customer however has taken a complaint to the New South Wales Anti-Discrimination Board.
The main thought we should take away from this is that the reported NZ clients bought this product directly without any recommendation or advice from a broker.
I am a new Zealanders and need to take out life and funeral insurance for my wife and I. We have resided in Perth for 6 years. How do I best find suitable cover?
Hi Davo and thanks for making contact. First of all to take out a policy with one of our providers you must be a Permanent Resident of Australia or have the intention to permanently reside as the Insurer may place limitations around this with a policy which you would be made aware of at the time of accepting the cover. Secondly, most Life Insurance policies generally will have a ‘Funeral Advancement Benefit’ built in, which means that on notification to the Insurer of the death of the life insured and on providing initial evidence in the form of a medical or interim certificate confirming the Life Insured has passed, the Life Insurance Company will release fairly quickly a percentage of the full death benefit or a set amount to the beneficiary/s depending on the sum insured. Alternatively, Funeral Insurance Cover is available as a stand-alone product. You are welcome to call one of our Life Insurance Specialists on 1300 135 205 who can explore the options for you and importantly we can compare up to 11 x Providers in the Australian Market.