Altrisk upgrades product range & offers comprehensive benefits for people living with HIV

Altrisk, a Hollard Life partner, launched some exciting innovations and renovations to its product range at its recent road shows held countrywide. It was also an opportunity to thank its intermediaries for their ever growing support levels.

The ongoing evolution of the Altrisk product range into an uncomplicated, intermediary friendly and client centric range of benefits is further enhanced by the addition of some new features.

SUICIDE EXCLUSION REDEFINED

Altrisk continues to lead the industry by redefining general exclusions in life insurance policies. Altrisk has made it possible to move life cover without the client being placed in a worse situation than before. The recent introduction of our new suicide clause wording that provides for "recognition of prior insurance" ensures that your client will not be subjected to a new 24 month suicide exclusion period but will instead be given credit for the time the cover was in force elsewhere. So, if you replace existing life cover that has been in force for 24 months, with an Altrisk policy, our client will not be subject to a suicide exclusion. Where life cover has been in force for a portion of the 24 month period the balance of the 24 month period will apply.

INNOVATIVE SOLUTION TO FUTURE COVER REQUIREMENTS

The innovative flexible cover facility provides intermediaries and clients with the benefit of ultimate flexibility with simple access to future lump sum benefit needs as well as being able to exchange existing lump sum benefits for alternative lump sum benefits when they are needed the most. In addition the intermediary and clients have the flexibility to increase, decrease or bank their life cover, dread disease, lump sum disability and physical impairment benefits without losing the facility if they elect not to effect new benefits on a regular basis.

NEW ONE YEAR PREMIUM GUARANTEE PERIOD OPTION

In an ongoing drive to provide intermediaries with options that fit their clients needs Altrisk have introduced an experience rated premium guarantee option. Experience rated premiums are "priced for life" but are annually reviewable. Should Altrisks claims experience remain within current pricing expectations, rates will remain consistent with the projected future premiums.

DREAD DISEASE BENEFIT REVAMPED

Dread disease benefits have been re-structured making it easier for the intermediary to assist the client in selecting the most appropriate benefit. There are two main categories of dread disease benefits available the basic benefit covers 26 diseases and the "comprehensive" benefit covers 50 diseases. The client can then select either the "tiered" option, which pays a severity based percentage of the insured amount, or alternatively the "max" option which pays 100% of the stated benefit.

Premium rates on the entire product range have been reviewed as a result of improvements in risk and financial management and by applying aggressive rate discounts for large premiums.

Occupational Disability can now be bought as a stand alone benefit, without life cover, and has been upgraded to include several physical impairment definitions (loss of vision of two eyes, loss of use of two or more limbs, loss of use of both hands, loss of use of both feet, loss of use of a hand and a foot) as an underpin to the occupational disability definition.

The Income replacement product now includes a monthly death benefit option that pays a monthly benefit to the beneficiaries for a period of 24 months. Included in the product, at no extra cost, is a benefit of 1 month of the insured amount in the event of the death of the insured. The definition on the extended top up benefit has been upgraded to provide cover for "own or suited occupation".

Comprehensive benefits for people living with HIV

The industry has been taking quite a bit of flack in the media for not offering affordable risk solutions to HIV+ clients. Altrisk views HIV as a controllable, chronic disease that affects all segments of the market and because of Altrisks specialist underwriting skills, it has been able to find a solution for HIV+ clients. Altrisk can offer life cover, dread disease and physical impairment benefits up to R2 million cover for a term of up to whole of life depending on the clients health status.