AIA Australia

Twenty years since the organisation’s founding, Fund Executives Association Ltd (FEAL) continues to empower its members to demonstrate and develop leadership in an industry undergoing rapid transformation.

As insurance companies grow, so too does the amount of claims they receive. Ultimately, this is a positive thing: more claims doesn’t necessarily indicate that more people are becoming sick or getting injured, but that increasing numbers are taking the time to assess their insurance needs, take out cover appropriate to their situation, and become better informed about what they might be eligible to claim for.

Whether manifesting as anxiety, depression or stress, periods of psychological ill-health can affect virtually anyone. Often these instances are temporary and circumstantial, occurring in response to difficult life events and subsiding naturally enough with time, self-care and the support of loved ones. For many, however, debilitating mind-sets persist and sources of support aren’t always at hand.

With the new financial year started and the Protecting Your Super (PYS) laws now in effect, the Federal Government has turned its attentions to introducing the Putting Members’ Interests First Bill, a set of measures initially intended as part of the PYS legislation but removed from the final Bill.

As anyone who’s been personally touched by cancer knows, fighting the disease amounts to much more than a bodily battle. In addition to the physical pain and discomfort generally brought on by surgery, medication and rounds of treatment, cancer takes a psychological toll as well.

The countdown to the introduction of the Protecting Your Super (PYS) legislation is now well underway, with the changes set to come into effect at the beginning of next month.

According to Pain Australia, 1 in 5 Australians live with persisting pain – a rate that’s only set to rise as our nation’s population ages. It’s Australia’s third most costly health condition, and is a significant contributor of suicides.

Held last month, ASFA’s Spotlight on Insurance in Super conference put focus on the critical issue of society’s most vulnerable in terms of their insurance requirements.