Putting you in the drivers’ seat with “Smart Start” and our latest process enhancements
We recently rolled out a series of enhancements to make it even easier for you to do business with us.
The enhancements include our new “Smart Start” feature which has been designed to give you more control at the point of policy commencement. A new 14-day “Change of Mind” window has also been introduced to make the process of cancelling and withdrawing cancellations easier for you and your customers. Finally in response to your feedback, we’ve introduced the ability to delete quotes in Adviser Hub.
Understand the changes:
-
Enjoy a simplified policy commencement process with “Smart Start”
Our new “Smart Start” feature streamlines our policy commencement process and puts you in the drivers’ seat.
With “Smart Start”, once underwriting for an Assurance Extra or Assurance Extra Business policy has been accepted at standard rates or an Offer of Terms has been accepted, our systems will initiate a temporary pause period and you’ll receive a “Ready to Issue” email. This email will outline the planned commencement date, first payment date, payment frequency and premium amount. It will also confirm the commission basis for the application.
The default temporary pause period is five working days, after which your policy will automatically issue.
Need to make changes to the commencement details?
During the pause period you’ll have the option to request any changes simply by replying to the email or calling the New Business team. If you’re happy with the details in the email, you don’t need to do anything and the policy will issue once the pause period ends.
Remember if you’re accepting an Offer of Terms, you can always stipulate in your acceptance email what your preferred commencement and payment dates are and they’ll be included in the “Ready to Issue” email. If you’d like the policy to be issued immediately, respond to the email requesting the policy be issued ‘today’ or ‘immediately’.
Adjust your pause period to suit you
You have the option to adjust your preferred pause period to anything from 0-5 days. Simply contact our Adviser Services team on AdviserServicesTeam.NZ@Chubb.com or your Business Partnership Manager if you’d like to change this.
You’re in the driver’s seat
Remember with Smart Start, you retain control. The “Ready to Issue” email will tell you what we’re planning to do, and if you need to make changes, simply respond to the email or give us a call.
-
Changes to our cancellation process for Assurance Extra and Assurance Extra Business customers
We’ve simplified the process of requesting a policy cancellation for you and your customers. As 13 of February we’ll process cancellation requests as soon as they’re received (the cancellation will be effective from the next billing date) and instead offer a new 14-day “Change of Mind” window.
A smoother process for your customers
During the 14-day “Change of Mind” window, customers will be able to withdraw their cancellation request and retain their cover without going through underwriting again. Additionally, if they were to experience a claimable event, they’ll continue to be protected until the end of the change of mind window, or the effective date of the cancellation, whichever is the latest.
Keeping final premiums to a minimum
Cancellations will be effective from the next billing date or at the end of the 14-day “Change of Mind” window, whichever is the latest. Customers wishing to cancel their policy will not have any further premiums deducted unless their payment date is due before the next billing date or their request is subsequently withdrawn.
-
Delete quote options now available in Adviser Hub
We’ve introduced a delete quote function to enable you to remove any unwanted quotes from AdviserHub. You’ll have the option to delete an individual quote within the quote itself or delete multiple quotes through a bulk delete function on the “retrieve quote” screen.
A smarter way to tidy up your quotes
We recognise you may have multiple pages of historic quotes that you’d like to delete quickly, but some could be linked to an eApp. Our new “bulk delete” function will only select quotes that are not linked to an eApp.
If you have questions about any of these changes, please read the Frequently Asked Questions below or get in touch with your Business Partnership Manager, they’ll be happy to help.
Frequently Asked Questions
14-day “Change of Mind Window”
- How can a customer cancel their policy?
Customers can cancel their policy by calling Chubb Life at 0508 464 999 or by emailing them at getintouch@chubb.com
- Do cancellations have to be submitted in writing?
No, policy owners can call us to cancel their policy. Following a short survey, we’ll be able to cancel their policy immediately if they wish to do so and the 14-day Change of Mind window will be applicable to them.
- Will the customer be advised about the “Change of Mind” window?
Yes, the “cancellation completed” email advises them of the 14 days to change their mind.
- Following a cancellation request, when will the policy be effectively cancelled?
A customer’s policy will be cancelled as of either their next billing date or 14 days after their cancellation request was made, whichever comes later.
- Following a cancellation request, if a premium is due prior to the next billing date, will customer still be charged?
Yes, policies are cancelled effective on the next billing date which means any premiums due will still be charged and the customer will remain covered until their next billing date.
For example if a customer was to cancel their policy on 25 March and a premium was due on 28 March, but their next billing date is 20 April, they’ll need to pay their premium due on 28 March to cover the period to 20 April before the policy cancellation comes into effect.
- If the customer changes their mind will there be medical underwriting required for reinstating during the “Change of Mind” window?
No, we’ve removed the need to fully underwrite a reinstatement provided the customer lets us know within the 14-day window. Customers can let us know they wish to reverse their cancellation by calling 0508 464 999 or by emailing getintouch@chubb.com (Note: all policy owners will need to revoke the cancellation).
- Will cover continue during the “Change of Mind” window for every cancellation, whether the policy is ultimately reinstated or remains cancelled.
Yes.
- Will you be changing the policy wordings to reflect this new process?
No, the existing wordings don’t describe our current process so no change is required. Instead, we’ll provide confirmation in writing to the customer and the Adviser about the Change of Mind window.
Delete quote option
- Can I retrieve a deleted Quote?
Once you delete a quote it cannot be retrieved, so please double check before deleting. To reduce the risk of accidentally deleting an important Quote you won’t be able to delete a quote that has been used to start an eApp.