Financial Hardship Policy

Zurich will apply a practical approach to assist you during this time and as early as possible we will take actions that are appropriate to your situation, such as: 

• Prioritising financial hardship support requests.
• Being flexible with requests for information.
• Providing additional support where you are a victim of Domestic or Family Violence (link to Family Violence Policy)
• Where appropriate, referring you to specialist external financial hardship services.
• Enabling authorised people to act on your behalf (including a lawyer, family member, carer, interpreter or friend) to make a Financial Hardship request.
• Recording the support provided to you, and any information agreed with you such as communication preferences and security measures, which you can access as per our privacy policy.
• Providing options for identification where this might be difficult for you, where possible in line with Austrac verification guidance.
• Training our staff to identify and support customers who are vulnerable and refreshing training annually to maintain staff support for vulnerable customers.

Our priority is to provide options which suit your unique needs, while being fair, sensitive and timely in how we support you. 
 

We are committed to customer service and to putting our customers and their needs first. This includes knowing when you are not satisfied with our products or with the information, service or a response that we have provided, and taking the opportunity to make things right. Zurich has internal dispute resolution procedures in place for resolving complaints, which is a free service to you and your representatives.

Zurich will confirm that your complaint has been received within 1 business day (or as soon as practicable) and work to provide an outcome as quickly as possible. 

Where appropriate we will refer you to our Dispute Resolution Team who will undertake further investigations. We will give you a dedicated contact person who will keep you regularly updated with progress and discuss options with you to resolve your complaint.

Once we have come to a decision on the outcome of your complaint, we will communicate this with you. In most cases we will then provide the outcome of your complaint in writing. Our complaints decision will usually be provided within 30 calendar days where your complaint relates to a life insurance policy, or financial advice provided by Zurich Assure. If your complaint relates to a superannuation product a decision will be provided, in most instances, no later than 45 calendar days from when we receive it. Where we cannot resolve your complaint within this timeframe we will advise you in writing.

Customers needing additional help

We understand some people need help to make a complaint and so you are able to ask someone to speak with us on your behalf, such as a relative, friend or legal representative, where we have your consent.

Zurich will also provide additional assistance to those who require help to understand their policy or lodge a complaint. This might include older persons, individuals experiencing financial hardship, managing a disability or mental health condition, individuals experiencing family violence or those that are from a non-English speaking background or indigenous community.

Zurich will take steps to ensure that all customers are provided with the service they need and will work with you or your representative to identify how best to provide support.

Should you require additional assistance, please contact us on 131 551 so we can provide the necessary support to help you manage your complaint.

Hearing and speech impaired customers can contact Zurich via the National Relay Service on 1300 555 727.

Customers requiring translation assistance can contact the Translating and Interpreting Service on 131 450 and request they contact us on your behalf.

Australian Financial Complaints Authority

If you are not satisfied with our response, you can have your complaint reviewed by an External Dispute Resolution (EDR) scheme.

We subscribe to the independent external dispute resolution scheme administered by the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA), which is available to customers and third parties who fall within the AFCA Complaint Resolution Scheme Rules. 

Please note there are time limits for lodging complaints with AFCA, which are available by contacting the organisation directly.

Zurich is bound by decisions made by AFCA that are accepted by you. However, if you do not accept AFCA’s decision, you may seek another course of action.