Nicola Beswick
Zurich Financial Services Australia (Zurich) has announced a partnership with the Pro Bono Financial Advice Network (PFAN), extending professional insurance assistance to those in particularly adverse or vulnerable situations.
Through the partnership, Zurich Assure – Zurich’s life insurance advice business – will work through PFAN, a trusted not-for-profit network of professionals, to help Australians living with, or responding to, a personal health crisis improve their financial wellbeing.
Those suffering from serious illness or disability will be able to access pro bono personal insurance advice and insurance claims assistance, support and guidance, including for example:
- evaluating claims eligibility
- preparing, reviewing and lodging claims applications, and
- ongoing claims management.
Sandhya Maini, Head of Zurich Assure, said: “Recent research conducted by Zurich shows that in the event of an illness or injury impacting their primary income, almost 40 per cent of individuals would only have sufficient financial resources for up to two weeks. In addition, one in three people indicated they had no financial backup plan in these circumstances.”
“Seeking and obtaining the right advice at the right time can make a significant and positive difference. For this reason, and consistent with our values as an organisation, Zurich remains committed to helping those most in need,” Ms Maini said.
Nicola Beswick, PFAN Chair said: “Our mission is to help improve the financial wellbeing of Australian’s living with serious illness or disability, by providing pro bono financial advice, and to inspire others to do the same. Through our PFAN adviser network, we’re able to connect advisers with people who need financial advice assistance and are experiencing significant financial hardship because of a personal health crisis.
“Having the support from trusted brands like Zurich Assure enables us to service more clients and ultimately extend our services to others that need our assistance. We also hope to inspire the next generation of advisers and increase awareness of the value that we bring to others through our profession,” Ms Beswick said.