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2010 ALUCA TurksLegal Scholarship
ABOUT THE SCHOLARSHIP
2010 SCHOLARSHIP QUESTIONS
WHO CAN ENTER?
HOW TO ENTER
2010 JUDGING PANEL
2010 JUDGING CRITERIA
ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE WINNER AND FIRST AND SECOND RUNNER UP
MEDIA
ABOUT THE SCHOLARSHIP
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The 2010 ALUCA TurksLegal Scholarship is designed to support the professional growth of ALUCA’s members and the educational and professional development profile of ALUCA by providing a significant career development opportunity for professionals working in Australia’s life insurance industry.
The Scholarship winner will be awarded with an overseas package valued up to $8,000, including return travel, accommodation, $1,000 cash and registration to one of the following life insurance conferences:
2011 Eastern Claims Conference, 27 February - 1 March 2011, New York City, New York
2011 LOMA Life Insurance Conference, 11-13 April 2011, Las Vegas, Nevada
2011 DI & LTC Insurers Forum (date and venue to be confirmed)
The first runner up will be awarded a $1,000 Red Balloon gift certificate valid for 12 months.
The second runner up will be awarded a $250 restaurant voucher.
2010 SCHOLARSHIP QUESTIONS
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Question 1 – Time to show us your PECs
Companies have sought to make insurance cheaper and more accessible by relying upon more complex and detailed pre-existing conditions (‘PEC’) exclusion clauses to screen out unacceptable risks at claim time, sometimes as an alternative to underwriting.
Are PECs the answer to limiting the underwriting information and offering cover cheaply and quickly? Is it reasonable for companies to use PECs as well as underwriting individual risks? Does this create problems for companies offering products through competing advice and non-advice channels for instance?
Your answer should address these issues and the benefits and pitfalls of using pre-existing conditions exclusion clauses from product disclosure, customer expectation as well as any legal issues affecting the interpretation and validity of exclusion clauses including the impact of relevant statute law.
Question 2 – The ‘new’ Insurance Contracts Act – An Opportunity for Better Claims Solutions
The amendments to the Insurance Contracts Act currently before the Federal Parliament have enjoyed widespread support because they strike a fairer balance between the interests of consumers and insurers.
What problems do the amendments seek to address and how effectively and fairly do they do it? Your answer should compare and contrast the existing provisions with the new remedies offered under the proposed amendments with particular reference to the remedies for non-disclosure and misrepresentation and with respect to the issue of ‘unbundling’.
Please also evaluate the benefits for consumers and for life insurers in the current proposal and provide practical examples of the different approaches that claims people will be able to take under the new legislation.
Question 3 – Show me the Money
The financial affairs of self employed business people are becoming more and more complex making calculation of their income from personal exertion less and less easy, particularly from the point of view of add backs and tax shelters such as family trusts that enable income splitting. It is desirable that the formula used at underwriting is consistent with the methodology used at claims time and for the company’s approach to be clearly stated in its product disclosure statement and in the policy documentation.
Is there an optimal way to approach describing and determining a self employed person’s income? Discuss this concept of income, outlining the pros and cons and suggest a best practice way forward. This question can be addressed from an underwriting or a claims perspective, or both.
Question 4 – Rehabilitation and the Management of Subjective Pain
Customers who experience subjective pain present special claims management issues. Has rehabilitation worked for these customers and ultimately for your company? Please explain the problems in implementing rehabilitation solutions in these situations. What techniques has your company used? When have they been effective and why?
Please include specific recommendations about how to effectively implement rehabilitation when the customer’s condition is not well understood from a medical point of view or the customer may be uncooperative. Please include some practical suggestions about how claims managers can set up, monitor and evaluate the results of rehabilitation strategies for claims of this kind.
Question 5 – That was my most Challenging Case!
Share the experience of your most challenging case in the last 12 months. What made it so difficult? What were the individual problems you had to overcome and how did you address each of them? What was the outcome for you, your organisation and for the customer? How did the way the case was handled benefit your company’s brand and reputation? What did you learn and what would you do differently next time?
This question can be answered from either a claims or underwriting perspective though, in either case, you must ensure that individuals are not identified and that privacy is maintained.
Question 6 – Risk Insurance in a Globalised World
With cover becoming more widespread in the community, particularly for employees through their superannuation funds and with more and more people continuously on the move, there is more chance than ever before that Australian claims people will have to deal with off shore claims issues.
Twenty four hour global cover is one of the standard policy benefits, but managing claims that occur off-shore can be a nightmare. What are the unique problems that can arise in the management of death and disability claims, that occur outside Australia and how can they be solved?
As well as featuring practical examples which illustrate the issues, and providing your insights about how these problems can be addressed, your response should discuss how policy wordings can be used (or possibly need to be modified) to assist companies in the management of these sorts of claims.
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WHO CAN ENTER?
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The Scholarship is open to all Australian resident members of ALUCA. Each entrant must be a current financial member of ALUCA and work directly in a capacity connected with claims or underwriting in the life insurance industry. Lawyers, accountants or medico-legal consultants who meet the above criteria are eligible to enter provided they are direct employees of life insurance companies, life reinsurance companies, superannuation trustees or superannuation administrators.
HOW TO ENTER
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Entries for the 2010 ALUCA TurksLegal Scholarship close on Friday 29 October 2010.
Entrants are required to submit an application form together with an essay (3,000 word maximum) answering one of the six questions.
Please read the terms and conditions outlined in the application form, prior to submitting an entry.
Applications can be submitted electronically to jacqueline.lyson@turkslegal.com.au or by post to:
Jacqueline Lyson
Marketing & Business Development Manager
TurksLegal
GPO Box 2554
SYDNEY NSW 2001
To download the 2010 ALUCA TurksLegal Application Form please click here
2010 JUDGING PANEL
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The 2010 ALUCA TurksLegal Scholarship judging panel is comprised of the following industry leaders:
Alph Edwards (Partner, TurksLegal)
Phil Hay (Head of Life Insurance, BT Financial Group)
Kristen Malanot (Committee Member, ALUCA)
Jim Minto (Managing Director, TOWER Australia)
John Myatt (Partner, TurksLegal)
Lisa Norris (Partner, TurksLegal)
Tracey Peters (President, ALUCA)
Simon Swanson (Managing Director, ClearView)
Linda Winterbottom (Committee Member, ALUCA)
2010 JUDGING CRITERIA
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The 2010 ALUCA TurksLegal Scholarship applications will be evaluated on the following criteria:
Understanding and insight of the chosen topic
Research foundation and conclusions supported by sound evidence
Clarity of thought
Commercial insight
Presentation
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2009 WINNER & FIRST AND SECOND RUNNER UP
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The 2009 ALUCA TurksLegal Scholarship winner, first and second runner up finalists were announced at the ALUCA Christmas Party held on 10 December 2009, in Sydney.
Winner: Gavin Lai, TOWER Australia
First Runner Up: Vanessa Back, CommInsure
Second Runner Up: Anna Norwood, CommInsure
Click here to find out more about Gavin's win.
MEDIA
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MEDIA RELEASE: 26/08/10: Time for Life Insurance Professionals to Shine
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