Matthew Collins

Matthew Collins, Principal at Financial Decisions discusses his views on the recent 4 Corners episode which put the spotlight on the insurance industry  and advisers…

If you are anything like us, your office may have received some client feedback following the last in the series of ABC’s 4 Corners episodes slamming the CBA and by association, our industry.

The 4 Corners investigation suggested that CommInsure uses less than ethical tactics to avoid paying what their former CMO and the reporters considered to be legitimate insurance claims. This meant the only option left for vulnerable customers was to argue their case against Australia’s largest financial institution in the courts during the most difficult moment of their lives.

Last week we sent out an email to clients to remind them that my insurance team:

• knows and understands the definitions associated with our recommended insurance policies
• has experienced staff who have dealt with a multitude of claims
• has the expertise to determine if a claim is likely to meet the definition of the policy and the claim criteria, preventing an insurer from denying a legitimate claim
• has specialist contacts within the legal industry and has access to expert witnesses to ensure insurers pay claims when clients are entitled
• knows the process to apply for an insurance claim to make this easier for the claims officer
• will fight on your behalf to ensure that the claim is paid to you.

On behalf of our clients we have had many successful claims for life, T&PD, Income Protection and Trauma insurance, not just with CommInsure, but all our insurance providers. In our experience Ccomminsure have been reasonable claims payers so we were as shocked as I am sure most of you were at the report.

One of our clients was required to make a claim on his total and permanent disability insurance. Both the client’s GP and the insurer stated that he had little chance of a claim being paid. After an 18 month battle with the insurer they agreed to pay the claim for over $1,400,000. It’s important we fight the battles for our clients.

All of the above clearly demonstrates why everyone should have an experienced financial adviser to deal with insurance claims on their behalf.”

By Matthew Collins, Principal, Financial Decisions

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