Asteron Life revises life product definitions

The Asteron Life Complete (ALC) product will be the first retail insurance offering to adopt an ‘unlikely to survive more than 24 months’ terminal illness definition for super and non-super policies and to pass this back to existing ALC customers, the company said in a statement.

Previously, the payment was provided where the insured did not survive more than 12 months.

Asteron Life said it will extend both the partial trauma benefit and its definition of coronary artery angioplasty.

The full trauma benefit will be paid if the policyholder undergoes a triple vessel angioplasty performed during one or more procedures that occur within a two-month period, when previously the triple vessel angioplasty had to be performed during the same procedure.

Asteron Life said it could pay a partial trauma benefit for each one or two vessel angioplasty without any time restriction between claims, allowing for multiple partial trauma benefit claims for different angioplasty events.

Previously, each subsequent angioplasty procedure had to occur at least six months after the previous procedure.

Asteron Life is also relaxing the criteria for a melanoma to consider a Breslow thickness of at least one millimetre, when 1.5 millimetres was previously required.

“We see real value in ensuring Asteron Life Complete customers have access to a terminal illness benefit earlier and aligning to the Superannuation Industry Supervision conditions of release for cover structured through super,” Suncorp’s executive general manager of the personal injury portfolio, Chris McHugh, said. 

“We believe when faced with a terminal illness, this benefit can make a significant difference to customer lives, allowing them to focus on the important things, like time with family.”

Asteron said its new Complete Supplementary Product Disclosure Statement applies to new business from Thursday.