In a statement this morning, MLC said the product, NAB Essential Life, will be available online, over the phone and in NAB branches.
Customers will be able to purchase the cover through “an easy and speedy application process without the need to consult a financial adviser or planner”, the statement said.
NAB Essential Life offers cover of up to $1 million with no medicals required, MLC said. Customers are provided with an “instant decision” by answering a few questions, and they can be immediately covered from the time they leave the branch or hang up the phone, the statement said.
Anand Thomas, MLC Life Insurance chief customer officer of bancassurance, digital & direct, said, “The introduction of the Essentials range is a tangible example of how MLC Life Insurance and NAB are working together to make life insurance more accessible.
“Our strategic partnership with NAB provides us with access to one of the largest distribution networks in the industry and we’re proud to be supported by a bank that believes in the value of protection.”
The national launch of NAB Essential Life follows NAB’s October sale of 80 per cent of MLC Limited – which operates the MLC life insurance business – to Japan’s Nippon Life Insurance Company.
The recent ASIC review into life insurance called out the much higher claim denial rate where insurance was not the result of advice. With underwriting at claim time it would appear that MLC is winning the race to the bottom. This move does not do anything to improve consumer confidence, and nothing to improve our chronic underinsurance problem. Still I suppose this is what Nippon was buying (access to the nab customers) when it invested into the MLC Life company.
interesting that Westpac backs off from pushing junk policies, but NAB doubles down on the dodgy policy play.
More Australians under-educated, tricked and under insured. It’s going to look a lot like how the Victorian Police group policy looks like today – only across AS MANY NAB CUSTOMERS AS POSSIBLE.
More ordinary Aussies with big surprises like underwriting at claim time and high rejection rates. Today Tonight are back in business.
So where was all the support for the LICG? If you didn’t support it, you got what you asked for!
This is a perfect example of what the LIF will and has achieved. I’ve just done a quote on NAB Essential Life and for a Life insurance for a 45 year old male non smoker for $500,000 the premium was $85.85 per month. An adviser using MLC retail would get the same cover for the same client for $39.43 per month (less than half the cost!!). Not only has the adviser saved half the cost but it was done so on full commission.
The NAB Essential cover is basic underwriting with high exclusions and obviously no advice around Life TPD, Trauma or IP which the client may need.
The issue of course is the customer is take the same position post LIF and the adviser has to charge say $1000 for providing risk advice and all of a sudden the customer has no choice but to go direct and pay double for a junk policy and they will be offered no advice on other products or have a safe policy.
This is exactly why the FSC want advisers out of the way.
The FSC, AFA and Kelly O’Dwyer have completely stitched up customers as well as advisers.
This is exactly the sort of junk product that people on moderate incomes will flock to if they have to pay separately for advice. Much higher chance of claims denial for the consumer, much lower underwriting and claims cost for the insurer. The real reason for LIF.
FSC code works well doesn’t it, since its the banks who are all on the board ACCC needs to revisit the Cartel behavior and wake up to the FSC, now AFA and FPA good work you have helped really stitch up the advisers and even the vertically aligned take a bow.!!
Great work MLC, Pushing this product will make even more Australians under-insured and inadequately protected.
Boy oh Boy!!…”Houston….we have a problem”
And will the bank staff have any incentives or targets or any other reasons to push people to this option? Glad I’m not a NAB planner, there’s “support” for the good work they do right there from their own employer.
So how do they manage this “speedy” process and still cover people appropriately? Who tells people how much cover they need?
Mystery shoppers needed !
And here it is, the exact reason that the banks pushed so hard for LIF