On 13th January 2021, ProRisk released a new Personal Accident wording, in line with the new General Insurance Code of Conduct, that no longer contains a Mental Illness Exclusion.

A timely move given the COVID-19 crisis and the rise in rise in the use of mental health services. Crisis lines and mental health services such as Lifeline and Beyond Blue have seen significant increases in contacts. For example, contacts with Beyond Blue increased by 38.6% in the 4 weeks from 10/8/20 – 6/9/20. Medicare subsidised mental health services too experienced 12.5% higher usage in the same period.

The increased exposure will be recognised with commensurate premium increases. This change gives brokers and the insured greater choice, with the option to opt out of this coverage to reduce the premium. In this case underwriters will apply the Mental Illness Exclusion Endorsement.

ProRisk is happy to comply with The Insurance Council of Australia’s code of conduct, which is designed to increase protections for people with a current or past mental health condition.

New provisions in the code include:

• Recognising the unique needs of people who disclose a mental health condition to an insurer.
• Complying with the Disability Discrimination Act in designing, selling and applying the terms of their products
• Only asking relevant questions when deciding whether to provide cover; and
• If cover is denied, telling the insured about their right to ask for the information relied on in making the decision.

If you would like to get a quote or discuss this with one of the ProRisk team, please contact ProRisk 1300 PRO INS (1300 776 467)