OnePath will use behavioural science to grow in the insurance market to help it to co-create better member experiences and regain customer trust.
Last year, OnePath commissioned research across advice, direct, superannuation and insurance customers to better understand the trust gap.
This was due customers feeling uncertainty, mistrust and distance with their insurer which affected their confidence in the likelihood of their claim being paid; customers estimated only 40% of claims were paid out, when the reality was 90%.
Low communication by insurers added to this mistrust, as they often only communicated around renewal time in a reactive style of communication.
At the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) ‘Spotlight on Insurance’ event, Gerard Kerr, OnePath’s head of propositions and group life, said there are levers that can pull across all its inputs to hone its focus.
“Our intention is to drive a lot on relationships, service and the technology side because this is what funds are looking to us to support them with improving their member’s experience,” Kerr said.
“We are really excited about what we can do to challenge trust using these findings from the behavioural science research.
“We will be sharing these findings and actions in a whitepaper and at industry forums and will be working to imbed these in our business to put insurance on a new path.”
OnePath would establish the website OnePath Clarity which would address topics not traditionally discussed with consumers.
“It covers areas we haven’t traditionally addressed including ‘why we don’t pay claims’ and ‘why do premiums go up’? In the past we have not focussed on talking enough about that,” Kerr said.
The insurance company has joined this year’s awards as a principal partner.
The $135 billion fund has transitioned away from TAL Life Insurance following an “extensive tender process”.
The $80 billion fund is facing legal action over allegedly signing up new members to income protection insurance by default without active member consent.
In a Senate submission, the Financial Services Council has once again called for further clarification that the government will assess the consumer outcomes of group insurance against the enshrined objective of superannuation.