A tower of strength

A concerted, ongoing effort by Tower to accommodate advisers in its efforts to sell more Tower business has landed the insurer the Money Management Risk Company of the Year award for the second year in a row.

A range of service initiatives was implemented during the year to make it easier and quicker for advisers to place business with Tower, as well as to facilitate faster processing of its clients’ claims.

Product changes across its three main insurance categories — income protection and disability, trauma, and life insurance — also impressed the panel of judges, comprising solely of advisers.

Extensive product and service enhancements were also prominent features among this year’s two Risk Company of the Year runners-up: CommInsure and Zurich.

Tower chief executive, retail life, David Callander said winning the award twice in a row was a “clear signal we’re on the right track to meeting advisers’ product and service expectations of an insurance company”.

A key service initiative by Tower this year was to increase some of the limits at which it accepts new business across the board, without asking for significant amounts of client information.

“All that is required from clients under its new FastTrack underwriting system is the completion of an application form and a statement of their health,” Callander said.

“The speed at which we can actually get those ‘standard’ cases on to our books is now pretty quick, and we are finding consequently that we can get more business onto the books than before.”

In addition, Tower is actively working with underwriters to ensure they are “open and accessible to advisers, and are trying to finish off a claim as quickly as possible”.

“Essentially, we are trying to make it as open and simple for someone to make a claim, rather than restrict the way in which they can make that claim.”

Another key Tower initiative is the formation of a distribution team that is “continuously on the road within Australia to assist advisers with product queries”.

“It’s the job of the distribution team to work through the product range with the individual advisers, and also to help with information requirements on specific products.

“We also have experts within the different areas of the business to assist advisers with requests for specific technical issues, such as the way in which tax is actually formulated.”

Tower’s product changes during the year have “not been radical in themselves, but are really about making it easier for advisers to do business with us”, according to Callander.

He believes it’s “very much the insurer’s duty to make sure advisers know exactly what the salient features of the products are that we are offering”.

“It’s about being prepared to tell the story again and again, so advisers come to realise how good our products are and how we can help with meeting the requirements of their clients.

“It’s also too much to expect advisers to know every single legal point in every single policy document emanating from the 11 or 12 major life insurance companies in Australia.”

CommInsure, too, initiated numerous product and service enhancements “in response to advisers’ needs”, according to managing director Simon Swanson.

Included among the service initiatives was the introduction of a hybrid commission structure to give advisers a higher initial commission, Swanson said.

The number of mobile underwriters operating the insurer’s state-based mobile underwriting service was also increased to “better service advisers at a local level”, he said.

An 1800 technical hotline was established to provide technical support to advisers and dealer groups nationally.

A risk sales academy program was established during the year to teach new advisers how to identify the need for life insurance, raise awareness of it, and sell life insurance.

The “quality and speed” of CommInsure’s claims process was increased by 9 per cent, he said.

“We have also introduced two full-time rehabilitation consultants to assist claimants’ return to work.”

Customer retention has also been a top priority for the insurer, with various strategies and product features implemented to develop customer loyalty.

“Our Loyalty Bonus Benefit, for example, will provide about $1.2 billion of additional life insurance cover from October 2007.”

Among CommInsure’s product upgrades during the year were “significant reductions” to premiums for its life, total and permanent disablement (TPD) and trauma suite.

Another key enhancement was the introduction of comprehensive trauma cover for female-specific conditions and melanoma.

The company has also introduced a short-form personal statement for sums up to $1 million for Life Care, TPD or trauma cover, and up to $6,000 monthly benefit for Income Care.

Zurich head of life risk Andrew McKee said the insurer made changes to its product suite in April this year as well as in November last year “essentially to maintain its competitiveness”.

The changes were also designed to ensure Zurich “provided flexibility for advisers, backed by really strong underwriting and customer service”, he said.

“Our improved service offering is increasingly being recognised by advisers, both in their communications with us and in terms of other feedback, including our performance in these awards.

“We are fortunate to be big enough to offer a competitive service but also small enough to be able to create intimate relationships with advisers.”