Axa Australia has made 13 changes to its current group insurance offering and has bolstered its relationship management procedures with additional hirings.
One of the most significant changes made to the group insurance product is the enhanced parental leave cover.
“One of the problems with maternity or paternity leave is when you come back [to work] you invariably come back on a part-time basis,” Axa head of group insurance Robert Bergin said.
“The problem is that before you went on leave you had a certain level of life insurance cover and when you come back part-time your insurance cover is now a pro-rata of what you previously enjoyed.”
Under Axa’s group life insurance, individuals returning to work from maternity leave will now receive the full level of cover for a 12 month period. In addition, Axa clients will only be charged at the pro-rata rate.
And this amendment applies to all employees who have taken extended leave, not just those affected by parenthood.
Another of the changes applies to terminal illness benefit payments. Previously, there was a $1 million benefit cap for a client diagnosed with a terminal illness with fewer than 12 months to live. The cap has now been lifted and Axa will pay the full benefit in these circumstances.
Other refinements include extended cover for overseas work-related travel and increased maximum entry age for continuation options.
In regard to customer relations, Axa has hired three new people to improve this area.
“Two months ago we brought in three client relationship managers to make sure we had a stronger presence with our customers supporting our sales initiatives,” Bergin said.
