Supporting customers experiencing vulnerability
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We recognise that anyone may experience vulnerability at some point in their lives, due to common and unpredictable life events such as illness or the death of a loved one.
At OnePath, we are committed to recognising and supporting customers experiencing vulnerability.
What do we mean by Vulnerability?
A customer experiencing vulnerability is someone who, due to their personal circumstances, has unique needs and is especially susceptible to loss, harm or disadvantage and therefore may need additional support.
We understand that vulnerability can be temporary or ongoing, and it can affect anyone, at any time.
Customers may experience vulnerability due to a range of factors including (but not limited to):
Our Customer Service team are trained to provide effective support for customers experiencing vulnerability. This includes:
We make sure to take family and domestic violence into account when we create our products, services, and processes. We also check how well our Family & Domestic Violence Policy is actually helping customers dealing with family and domestic violence.
We promise to make sure that a customer’s claim won’t be affected by their family and domestic violence situation.
Empathy and Active Listening: Listening actively and empathetically to their concerns without interruption, creating a supportive and understanding environment.
Identifying Vulnerability Indicators: Recognising indicators of vulnerability, such as age, disability, mental health issues, or language barriers, to adapt the approach and offer appropriate assistance.
Effective Communication: Using clear, concise, and jargon-free language when interacting with vulnerable customers.
Problem-Solving and Decision-Making: Equipping staff with problem-solving skills to address complex situations faced by vulnerable customers, providing guidelines and scenarios for informed decisions and appropriate solutions.
Knowledge of Support Services: Familiarising staff with available support services within and outside the organisation, including helplines, community resources, and relevant government agencies, to provide referrals to customers in need.
Data Protection and Confidentiality: Emphasising the importance of data protection and confidentiality, training staff to handle personal information securely and adhere to relevant privacy regulations.
Regular Training and Updates: Conducting ongoing training sessions to keep staff updated on best practices and new developments, ensuring their skills remain up to date to provide optimal support to vulnerable customers.
OnePath will keep customers and employees informed on a regular basis through updated online and printed material about the support and resources available to customers facing family and domestic violence.
This comprehensive training equips our customer service team to effectively and empathetically support customers facing unique and challenging circumstances.
At OnePath, we understand that life can sometimes present unexpected financial challenges. That's why we are committed to providing support to our customers during times of financial hardship. We believe that by working together, we can find solutions that alleviate some of the burdens you may be facing.
We offer a range of financial hardship support options to help you navigate these difficult times. Here are some ways in which we can assist:
- Premium Assistance Programs: Our premium assistance support is designed to provide temporary relief to customers facing financial difficulties. These programs may include reduced premiums or temporary suspension of premium payments for a defined period.
- Claims Assistance: We are committed to providing timely and efficient claims processing to ensure you receive the financial support you need when you need it most. Our claims team is dedicated to handling your claims with care and sensitivity, and we can prioritise claims handling or offer guidance on the claims process to make it easy for you.
- Financial counselling and Education: We understand that navigating financial challenges can be overwhelming. That's why we offer resources and referrals to financial counselling services. These services can help you gain a better understanding of your financial situation and make informed decisions.
- Policy Adjustments: If you are experiencing financial hardship, we can provide options for you to review your policy. This may include adjusting coverage levels or exploring more cost-effective alternatives.
We encourage you to reach out to us directly to discuss the available options.
At OnePath, we are committed to supporting you through challenging times. Our dedicated team is here to listen, understand, and work with you to find the best possible solutions for you.
- Mental or physical health conditions
- Disability
- Language and/or literacy barriers
- Remote locations and isolation
- Natural disasters and catastrophic events
- Age
We recognise the importance of understanding the needs of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and customers from different cultural backgrounds. We are committed to providing access to support services, where needed and tailoring these services to meet your specific needs.
We also recognise that a customer may need extra support due to the event that led to their Insurance claim.
Do you need to change your policy if you are experiencing domestic or family violence?
Joint policy ownership
If you have a jointly owned policy and no longer feel safe sharing policy ownership with the other owner, we can assist you by:
- Advising what steps need to be taken to amend the ownership of the policy and considering any impacts to your safety in meeting these requirements.
- Assisting you in setting up your own policy, if this is what you wish to do.
- Connecting you with helpful services.
- Ensuring that any new contact information you provide to us remains secure.
Review your Beneficiaries
Beneficiaries are those whom you can nominate to receive a benefit from your life insurance on eligible policies. Without a nomination, we will pay benefits to the policy owner (or to their estate).
You can update your beneficiaries easily through our My OnePath Life portal. If you need help, your financial adviser or our OnePath team can guide you through the process securely and privately. You can contact OnePath on 133 667.
If your policy is held via your superannuation fund, your fund should be able to assist you in updating your beneficiaries.
Payment of Claims
- We are committed to handling your claim with the utmost privacy, empathy, sensitivity, and care.
- We will make every effort to ensure that you communicate directly with us and/or our representative, and limit any requirement for you to communicate with the policy owner or joint policy owners.
How we communicate with you.
Please keep your communication preferences with OnePath up to date. This way, we can make sure we contact you in the way in which you prefer to communicate with us.
We will be flexible with when and how we contact you, so that you feel safe and comfortable when communicating with us. This includes not requiring you to communicate with another policy owner if you have a joint policy.
We offer electronic communication options, so that you can remain informed about your policy if you change postal address.
How we can help
OnePath will take steps to ensure that you are provided with the service you need and will work with you or your representative to identify how best to provide support.
We understand it can be difficult to speak openly about your situation. However, our staff have been specifically trained to assist you in your time of need, will treat you with empathy and will ensure that at all times we manage your personal information in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
By phone:
- OneCare Life Insurance products: 133 667
- All other life insurance products: 132 062
- International callers: +61 2 9995 3077
- OnePath Investments: 1800 646 706 / +61 2 9995 3777
8.30am-6pm AEST Monday - Friday
By email:
Customers with hearing and speech impairment, can contact us via the National Relay Service on 1300 555 727. Customers requiring translation assistance can contact the Translating and Interpreting Service on 131 450 and request they contact us on your behalf. We will also arrange translation assistance for customers, including appointing an interpreter to assist in our communications. To request an interpreter, contact us using the details listed above.
We welcome customer feedback
Should you require assistance with lodging a Complaint, contact us using the details listed above. Customer complaints can also be registered at: onepath.com.au/about-us/complaints.
Our policies are designed to support you
To understand our policies further, simply click on the relevant link for you.
FAMILY VIOLENCE POLICY
INTRODUCTION
This Policy outlines OnePath’s approach to managing vulnerable customers affected by Family Violence.
OnePath seeks to minimise impact to customers by providing support and practical assistance to those affected by family violence.
In this policy, OnePath considers ‘family violence’ as: “violent, threatening or other behaviour by a person that coerces or controls a member of the person’s family or causes the family member to be fearful”, consistent with the Family Law Act 1975.
Family violence is not limited to physical instances of violence and may also include emotional, psychological, financial/economic, sexual abuse and threats of abuse. Family violence can include damage to property and animals. Customers affected by family violence fall within a broader class of ‘vulnerable customers’.
ONEPATH’S PRIORITIES IN MANAGING CUSTOMERS AFFECTED BY FAMILY VIOLENCE
OnePath’s priorities are:
- The fair and sensitive treatment of customers affected by family violence, ensuring they are treated with dignity and respect.
- The decisions made consider the safety of the customer and their family.
- The provision of support to our staff who are dealing with, or may deal with, sensitive cases, including customers affected by family violence.
MANAGEMENT OF SITUATIONS WHERE FAMILY VIOLENCE IS IDENTIFIED OR SUSPECTED
OnePath will:
- Take additional care when dealing with customers affected by family violence and provide additional support and assistance in connection with the provision of insurance services, where reasonable.
- Not require evidence of an intervention order to trigger the requirements of the family violence policy. Someone self-identifying as being affected by family violence will be treated in accordance with the policy without further evidence being required.
- Treat all information about a customer affected by family violence as sensitive and will take measures to ensure the information is kept confidential.
- Engage with the customer to discuss safe ways to communicate and record these communication methods on the customer’s file.
- Engage with the customer to determine if communication should involve the customer’s financial counsellor, lawyer, community services or social work, legal aid officer or family violence specialist.
- Where reasonable, minimise the information that a customer is required to provide and the number of times a customer is required to disclose the same information, noting that they may not have access to their personal information, records and documents.
- Where possible, provide customers with consistency in speaking to one staff member, or a single pathway of escalation.
- Encourage customers experiencing family violence to notify OnePath of that fact via the OnePath website and relevant correspondence.
- Ask a customer who self-identifies as being affected by family violence what their financial situation is, to determine whether they are also experiencing financial hardship.
- Refer customers to specialist, external family violence and financial hardship services, as appropriate.
- Provide vulnerable customer training to all staff, including Family Violence training.
- Appoint an appropriately trained staff member to support a vulnerable customer, as required.
- Provide support to OnePath staff affected by family violence or who are affected by dealing with vulnerable customers through an employee assistance line, line management or human resources discussions, training and the provision of resource documents.
- Provide a copy of the public Family Violence Policy to a customer upon request.
If a customer is dissatisfied with OnePath’s management of their vulnerability, they can lodge a complaint. OnePath will provide information about the complaint management process on their website.
OnePath Life Limited (OnePath Life) ABN 33 009 657 176, AFSL 238341
Client Enquiries 133 667
LIFE INSURANCE FINANCIAL HARDSHIP POLICY
OnePath is committed to supporting & providing practical assistance for customers who are facing financial hardship.
Financial Hardship refers to a circumstance where the individual has or may have difficulty meeting their financial obligations to us.
Financial Hardship may be due to (but not limited to) a death of a family member, injury, illness, involuntary unemployment, change in personal circumstances or a natural disaster.
HOW WE CAN SUPPORT YOU
If you are facing financial hardship, we will work with you to identify how best to support your individual circumstances, which could include altering cover to enable the premiums to be more affordable, changing payment frequency, review of premium loadings, increase waiting period, temporary suspension of premium payments, or switching off indexation.
There may be circumstances (such as Natural disaster) which mean customers may not be able to provide required documentation or may be impacted financially by the events. OnePath will apply a practical approach to assist customers in this time, such as prioritising financial hardship requests, being flexible with requests for information & where appropriate, referring customers to specialist external financial hardship services.
Our priority is to provide options which suit your unique needs, while being fair, sensitive & timely in our approach.
Any person authorised to act on behalf of a customer (including a lawyer, family member, carer, interpreter or friend) may make a Financial Hardship request.
SUPPORT AT CLAIM TIME
If a customer is suffering Financial Hardship during the claims process because of the condition that has caused the claim, we will prioritise the assessment of the claim and where possible consider making an advance claims payment. We will confirm the outcome in writing within 5 business days of the hardship being demonstrated.
WE MAY ASK FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
There may be times where we ask for further information as evidence, such as financial information, so that we can understand how best to support you. We will get in touch if this is the case.
CONTACT US
If you are experiencing financial hardship or would like further information, please contact us via one of the below options.
By phone:
OneCare Life Insurance products: 133 667
All other life insurance products: 132 062
International callers: +61 2 9234 8111
OnePath Investments: 1800 646 706 / +61 2 9995 3777 8.30am-6pm AEST Monday - Friday
By email: customer.risk@onepath.com.au
If you are not satisfied with our suggested outcome, you can lodge a complaint through our website onepath.com.au/about-us/complaints or by contacting us on the above number.
FURTHER ASSISTANCE
If you require professional financial help, please refer to our website for Government & Community organisations which offer free counselling services & resources.
OnePath Life Limited (OnePath Life) ABN 33 009 657 176, AFSL 238341
Client Enquiries 133 667
Other sources of support
The following resources are available to anyone experiencing vulnerability. These services are free and confidential.
If you are in need of immediate assistance, please call 000.
EMERGENCY – AMBULANCE / POLICE / FIRE - 000
| Claim up to 20 sessions with a Mental Health Professional through Medicare | Website: https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/individuals/subjects/whats-covered-medicare/mental-health-care-and-medicare |
| Beyond Blue - information and support to help everyone in Australia achieve their best possible mental health | Phone: 1300 224 636 Website: www.beyondblue.org.au |
| 24 Hour Line – telephone information and counselling service for people in crisis needing urgent help. | Phone: 1800 199 008 |
| Kids Help Line – free telephone and online counselling service for young people | Phone: 1800 551 800 |
| Lifeline – provides access to 24 hour crisis support and suicide prevention services | Phone: 13 11 14 Website: www.lifeline.org.au |
| MensLine Australia - telephone and online counselling service offering support for Australian men | Phone: 1300 789 978 |
| The Samaritans Help Line - 24 Hour support for the despairing, lonely or suicidal | Phone: 135 247 |
| Salvation Army Hope Line for suicide support | Phone: 1300 467 354 |
| Suicide Call Back Service – nationwide 24/7 telephone and online counselling to people affected by suicide | Phone: 1300 659 467 Website: www.suicidecallbackservice.org.au |
| Mental Health Emergency Response Line – 24/7 telephone service for people in Perth metro area experiencing mental health crisis | Phone: 1300 555 788 |
| Poisons Information Centre | Phone: 13 11 26 |
| Griefline – telephone counsellors | Phone: 1300 845 745 (6am to midnight AEST) Website: https://griefline.org.au/ |
| National Association for Loss and Grief | Phone: 02 6882 9222 Website: http://www.nalag.org.au/ |
| MoneySmart - ASIC provides tips and advice on managing money | Website: https://moneysmart.gov.au/ |
| National Debt Helpline - free, confidential financial counselling service | Phone: 1800 007 007 Website: https://ndh.org.au/ |
| Legal Aid Commissions – each State and territory provide legal assistance services, including some that is available free of charge for certain individuals | Website: https://info.australia.gov.au/information-and-services/public-safety-and-law/legal-aid Website: www.probonocentre.org.au |
| Kildonan Uniting Care – provide financial support programs and child, youth and family support (website provides option to select language) | Phone: 1800 002 992 Website: www.unitingkildonan.org.au |
The Salvation Army Moneycare - free, confidential financial counselling service
| Phone: 1800 722 363 Website: https://www.salvationarmy.org.au/need-help/financial-assistance/financial-counselling/ |
Telephone and video translation services
Phone: 131 450 Phone: +613 9268 8332 (Outside Australia) Website: www.tisnational.gov.au |
Hearing and speech impaired customers can contact OnePath via the National Relay Service
Numbers and Links for NRS users:
| TTY (Speak and Read) | Standard and overseas calls: 1800 calls: |
| TTY (Type and Read) | |
| TTY (Type and Listen) | |
| NRS Chat | Nrschat.nrscall.gov.au |
| SMS Relay | 0423 677 767 |
| Video Relay | Open Microsoft Teams (Opens in a new tab/window) and contact NRS VIDEO RELAY SERVICE |
| NRS Captions | Nrscaptions.nrscall.gov.au |
| Voice Relay | 1300 555 727 |
| Register for NRS | Register for the NRS | Access Hub |
| Telephone and video translation services | Phone:131 450 Phone: +613 9268 8332 (Outside Australia) Website: www.tisnational.gov.au | ||||||||||||||||
| Hearing and speech impaired customers can contact OnePath via the National Relay Service | Numbers and Links for NRS users:
|
| 1800 RESPECT - a 24 hour national sexual assault, domestic and family violence counselling line | Phone: 1800 737 732 Website: www.1800respect.org.au |
| Services Australia – support services & tools | Website: https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/individuals/subjects/family-and-domestic-violence/who-else-can-help-family-and-domestic-violence |
| ACON Sydney - help LGBTIQ people who have experienced domestic and family violence by providing a range of resources and support services | Website: https://www.acon.org.au/what-we-are-here-for/domestic-family-violence/#domestic-family-violence |
| QLife – LGBTI peer support and referral for people wanting to talk about a range of issues including sexuality, identity, gender, bodies, feelings or relationships | Phone: 1800 184 527 (3pm to midnight, 7 days) Website: https://qlife.org.au/get-help |
| White Ribbon – support services in each state | Website: https://www.whiteribbon.org.au/Find-Help/Support-Services |
| DV Connect Womens Helpline – free crisis helpline for Queenslanders identifying as female and experiencing domestic and family violence | Phone: 1800 811 811
|
| DV connect Mens Helpline - Queensland’s free, domestic and family violence helpline for anyone identifying as male, regardless of age, ability, ethnicity, income or religion. Offering counselling, information & referral pathways | Phone: 1800 600 636 (9am – midnight, 7 days)
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| Sexual violence helpline - free helpline offering emotional support and referral pathways for any Queenslander who have been sexually assaulted or abused. | Phone: 1800 010 120 (7:30am – 11:30pm, 7 days) |
| Ask Izzy - mobile website that connects people who are in crisis with the services they need right now and nearby. | Website: https://askizzy.org.au/ |
| Aboriginal Family Domestic Violence Hotline – information on victims’ rights, how to access counselling & financial assistance | Phone: 1800 019 123 |
| Women’s Legal Services Australia | Website: http://www.wlsa.org.au/ |
| Men’s Referral Service – advice for men about Domestic Violence | Phone: 1300 766 491 Website: https://www.ntv.org.au/get-help/ |
| Domestic Violence in Regional Communities – provides a contact list of services available in different States in Australia for people impacted by, or perpetrators of domestic violence | Website: www.dvirc.org.au
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| Australian Childhood Foundation – counselling for children and young people affected by abuse | Phone: 1800 176 453 Website: www.childhood.org.au Website: www.stopchildabuse.com.au |
| Relationships Australia – Support groups and counselling on relationships for abusive and abused partners | Phone: 1300 364 277 Website: www.relationships.com.au |
| Say it Out Loud – national resource for the LGBTQ+ communities and to build the capacity for service professionals working with people who have experienced sexual, domestic and family violence | Website: https://sayitoutloud.org.au/abusive-relationships/getting-help/find-a-service/?state=all |
| Supporting Culturally and Linguistically Diverse People | Website: https://www.openminds.org.au/services/supporting-culturally-and-linguistically-diverse-people-cald |
| Head to Health - Support & Resources for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse people | Website: https://www.headtohealth.gov.au/supporting-yourself/support-for/culturally-and-linguistically-diverse-people |
| Aboriginal Health Services and Support | Website: https://www.cesphn.org.au/services-and-support/services-aboriginal |
| Culturally appropriate mental health services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people | Website: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health program | Australian Government Department of Health |
| Social, emotional and cultural wellbeing online resources for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People | Website: www.wellmob.org.au |
| Disaster Assist – getting help & key contacts | Website: https://www.disasterassist.gov.au/ |
Our Promises to You
We are committed to ensuring continuity of key industry standards as we transition our industry association membership from the Financial Services Council to the Council of Australian Life Insurers. This transition will have no impact on how we serve and support our customers and we will continue to be bound by the Life Insurance Code of Practice and relevant standards.
When you take out life insurance, it’s important that you get the highest standards of service in all your dealings with us.
That’s why we have adopted the Life Insurance Code of Practice. It’s the life insurance industry’s commitment to mandatory customer service standards and it’s designed to protect you, our customer.
Visit onepath.com.au/licop for more information.