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Monthly Archives

March 2020

Mar 27

IAG Announces COVID-19 Customer Support Package

By Insurance, News

IAG has unveiled a series of measures to support travel and small business customers hit by the coronavirus outbreak – and other insurers are expected to follow suit.

The general insurance industry has been under political pressure to develop a COVID-19 response similar to that announced by the banks, but insuranceNEWS.com.au understands it has not been possible to co-ordinate an industry-wide position.

Last night IAG confirmed its approach, which applies to direct and brokered insurance offered through its NRMA Insurance, CGU, WFI, SGIO and SGIC brands.

Suncorp is expected to announce similar measures either today or Monday, along with some other major insurers operating in Australia.

IAG’s key measures are:

• Travel insurance refunds for any unused proportion of premiums, including full refunds where

customers have not yet travelled and have not claimed

• Deferred premium payments for up to six months for small businesses experiencing financial hardship

• Refunds on the unused portion of premiums for small businesses who cancel their insurance, with no administration or cancellation fees

• Small businesses which need to close premises due to the impact of COVID-19 can maintain full insurance cover on the premises with no changes to premium

• Reduced timeframes in making payments to suppliers from 30 to no more than 15 business days.

IAG MD and CEO Peter Harmer says the virus is the latest disaster to hit communities “in what has been a catastrophic start to 2020”.

Mr Harmer says IAG is employing extra people to “bolster the company’s ability to respond to customer needs quickly and efficiently”.

“More than 90% of our people are now working from home, including our customer-facing staff who have been set up to work remotely since 2018,” he said.

“We are also employing up to an additional 400 people in the customer-facing parts of our business to help meet the needs of our customers at this time.”

IAG expects the measures to be in place by Monday.

Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) spokesman Campbell Fuller told insuranceNEWS.com.au that ICA “supports measures from its members that assist customers during the COVID-19 crisis”.

Mar 27

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update – CGU introduces support measures for customers impacted by coronavirus

By Insurance, News

Update From CGU

Dear Valued Partner,

CGU introduces support measures for customers impacted by coronavirus

CGU is pleased to announce a series of measures to support current customers as the coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to spread, and impact families, communities and businesses.

The key measures which apply are:

  • Deferred premium payments for up to six months for small businesses experiencing financial hardships; and
  • Small businesses which need to close premises due to the impact of COVID-19 can maintain full insurance cover on the premises with no changes to premium

We have also employed additional people to bolster our ability to respond to your & your customer’s needs quickly and efficiently.

Deferral of premium payments for up to six months

  • We are offering all small business customers the option to defer payment of their annual or monthly premium for up to six months.
  • This means they will continue to be covered by their existing insurance policy without needing to pay their annual or monthly premiums now.
  • If they do need to make a claim during this time, the cost of their premium will be taken as part of their claims cost.
  • This offer applies to all eligible small business customers – excluding workers’ compensation policies.
  • This is available until 30 September 2020. We will reassess this as needed.
  • For small business customers to take up this offer it will require you to do the following:

–  For annual payments – extend your credit terms to small businesses experiencing hardship for up to six months from policy inception. Remit payment to us as soon as reasonably practicable thereafter. We will adapt our credit control policy and procedures to accommodate these payments outside of your standard credit term arrangements with us.

– For monthly payments – contact our Premium Administration team on 1300 766 724 to make arrangements for deferral of monthly premium payments.

  • This is available to small businesses with an annual turnover of less than $50 million and / or a sum-insured asset value definition of up to $10 million.

Small businesses which need to close premises due to the impact of COVID-19 can maintain cover on the premises with no changes to premium 

  • Most insurance cover for business premises relies upon occupancy. Vacant premises are higher risk and typically attract higher premiums.
  • We understand that some small business sites won’t be occupied at this time due to COVID-19, so we will provide existing customers full cover on the premises with no changes to premium or excess.
  • This is available until 30 June 2020.
  • This is available to businesses with an annual turnover of less than $50 million and / or a sum-insured asset value of up to $10 million.

If you have any questions, or would like to discuss further, please reach out to me or your Account Partner.

Regards,
Brad Robson
Executive Manager Broker & Agency