TAL partners to expand access to affordable insurance

The life insurer has today launched backd by TAL in partnership with Cover Genius, targeting those with limited access to affordable cover options.

backd offers tailored, affordable options for workers not currently eligible for other types of cover, paying benefits of $100-$300 per day for income protection and up to $150,000 for life insurance, TAL said.

It will be offered directly to consumers through a range of organisations across the health and banking sectors, integrated into platforms that Australians use daily, it explained.

Employers will be able to provide life, income and illness protection through their payroll platforms via streamlined online registration with no underwriting and 100% digital claims processing.

It comes as Cover Genius estimates one million Australians are underinsured for death and total and permanent disability (TPD), while 3.4 million have no or insufficient income protection, especially among younger Australians.

"Cover Genius' data shows that Australians aged 25-44 are significantly more likely to purchase bite-sized life insurance and prefer to purchase it online," it said.

"And with a significant number of Australians employed under contractor, casual, or labour hire arrangements, millions of workers lack basic leave benefits and affordable insurance options through superannuation."

Cover Genius chief executive and co-founder Angus McDonald said younger generations typically don't have cover as they feel it is too expensive or fear the process is too complex.

"Solutions such as bite-sized life and income protection can also serve as a way to engage younger Australians who may not yet have seriously considered their needs but have come to appreciate the ease and value of purchasing embedded protection online for other things such as travel and music events," McDonald said.

"Making protection easy to understand, financially accessible and simple to access online through employers and other trusted partners is a logical next step in levelling the life insurance playing field."

According to NobleOak's recent study, only 30% of Australians are confident in their knowledge of "fully underwritten" policies despite half of these respondents holding a life insurance product.

Its research also found more Australians are prioritising life insurance, with two in five (60%) now holding some form of coverage, an increase from 55% last year.

Despite a growing appetite for life insurance, there is a lack of understanding and therefore rife underinsurance.

TAL group chief executive and managing director Fiona Macgregor believes life insurance cover should be tailored and simplified to improve uptake.

"At the core of our Cover Genius partnership is ensuring more Australians who want and need insurance can get it," Macgregor said.

"Life insurance is much more than death benefits. Last year, 74% of the 54,000 claims we paid supported the recovery of people with an illness or injury that prevented them from working.

"With backd, more Australians will get support critical to their recovery, addressing an important community need."

McDonald added the initiative can offer "the right cover, via the right channel, at the right price."

"Many people do not have life insurance either because they feel they cannot afford it, have not been offered it or think the process will be too complex," McDonald said.

"backd overcomes these issues, by giving employers a simple way to offer their employees easily accessible protection that suits their income and financial needs by simply embedding it into their existing HR or payroll platform."