LUCRF fixes ‘uncompetitive’ group insurance

LUCRF Super has renegotiated its contract with ING Life a year before it was due to expire, and secured an increase in cover for members at no additional premium.

A review of the contract started last year after LUCRF’s board recognised the fund’s group insurance cover was not competitive enough, according to chief executive Greg Sword. “We felt our product offering in this area was less than optimal, so we had to sit down with the underwriter to improve it,” he said. The outcome has increased cover for members, and also led to a significant revision of the underwriting conditions. New conditions mean automatic or “on the spot” acceptance levels have been increased, allowing LUCRF to give automatic approval for substantially higher levels of cover. And the application process has been simplified for those who fall outside the automatic approval level and need approval from ING. The $2.4 billion industry super fund has also introduced a “white-collar scale” for members, tailoring insurance to professional occupation as well as age. Sword said the new arrangements were much more competitive and it was hoped this would “significantly improve member density in every site where we have members”. “LUCRF Super members come from a whole host of industries and apply a wide range of skills and talents to their work. They can now choose far more precisely the level and type of insurance coverage that best suits them,” he said. For example, professional managerial members have had insurance cover boosted some 136 per cent. And a 35-year-old white-collar worker’s death benefit payment has increased from $37,500 to $84,700 for the same fee of $1 a week. The changes were effective the day the agreement was signed on March 12. LUCRF Super is now reviewing its income protection insurance, also under ING.