Asteron moves to address policy lapses


Insurer, Asteron Life has launched what it is describing as an Adviser Support Package, which it says contains tools to help financial advisers better engage with their clients on the critical issue of policy lapses.
Announcing the new package this week, Asteron Life executive manager Mark Vilo said it had been developed in line with feedback from the company's national adviser roadshow.
That feedback, combined with customer research undertaken by Asteron, found that 40 is the average age of entry for trauma insurance, 44 is the average age people lapse on that insurance, and 49 is the average age of claim for trauma.
Using an interactive website, the insurer believes it is providing advisers with the information necessary to educate their clients to "live smarter" in their 40s by having some level of insurance cover that's adequate for their life-stage.
"Australians in their 40s make more life insurance claims than any other age group and Asteron Life is arming advisers with a support package to help retain clients at risk of lapsing at one of their most vulnerable stages of life," Vilo said.
"The most alarming finding was that the average lapse on a life insurance policy happens at age 44, and the average claim is made around the age of 49, showing that Australians are letting go of their insurance just a few years before they might need it. This exposes them to a major financial gap in the event of a serious illness, accident or their own death," he said.
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