Supporting customers experiencing Mental Health conditions

At NobleOak we are committed to providing the required care and support to our customers who have previously or are living with mental health conditions.

We commit to ensuring that their specific needs are met to the best of our abilities with compassion and sensitivity.

We have a specialist Client Care Team at NobleOak who can provide individual support to our customers at any point in their journey with us if needed.

Please contact them via the following.

NobleOak Client Care Team

1300 396 455
[email protected]

The following guidance is provided to assist our customers in their journey at NobleOak.

Encourage customers to share their needs

We encourage our customers to tell us about their mental health condition(s) especially if they need extra support in communicating with us.  We can always assist in supporting or providing help in accessing all our services.

Requesting Extra Support

If you tell us, or we identify that you need extra support to access our services due to a mental health condition, we will work with you (your family, carer, or support person as applicable) to find a suitable, sensitive, and compassionate option.

Flexible Support

If a customer tells us that they require extra support from someone else or if we identify that they require extra support – such as a lawyer, consumer representative, interpreter, family member, carer, or friend – we will recognise this and allow it in all reasonable ways. We will make sure our processes are flexible enough to recognise the authority of a support person where and when possible.

Staff Training and Policies

We have internal policies and role-appropriate training to assist our staff identify and understand if a customer is or may be vulnerable, consider unique needs and decide how we may be able to help them engage with us and to what extent.

We will engage our customers with empathy, transparency, compassion, and respect, not least to avoid exacerbating any mental condition they may have.

Buying a Life Insurance Policy

If a customer advises us that they have, or have had, a past diagnosed mental health condition, or symptoms of a mental health condition, NobleOak will not decline to insure a customer before they have had the opportunity to provide information about the history, severity, or type of condition and we will consider individual circumstances.  To this end, NobleOak has removed mental health conditions from our pre-assessment process ensuring that all customers have the opportunity to provide a full application for our assessment.

If a customer tells us about a past or current mental health condition, we will determine whether we can provide cover by managing any additional risk through Special Acceptance Term.  These may include higher premiums (known as Loadings), Exclusions, Limits, and Caps where possible rather than decline an application outright.

If we offer a customer Special Acceptance Terms, we will provide them with a summary underwriting reason for these terms.  Where we have obtained medical information from a doctor (with the customers consent) and have identified insurance risks that have resulted in these terms.  If required, we will refer the customer to their treating doctor so they can provide the customer with a full and complete understanding of our decision.

If we are unable to offer insurance to a customer and decline their application, we will provide them with a summary underwriting reason for the decline.  Where we have obtained medical information from a doctor (with the customers consent) and have identified insurance risks that have resulted in the decline of the application.  We will refer the customer to their treating doctor so they can provide the customer with a full and complete understanding of our decision.

Underwriter Skills and Training

We will continue to ensure our Underwriters and Sales Care staff have the appropriate skills and training, including for mental health. Our Underwriters will not make decisions for NobleOak until they have shown technical competency and an understanding of relevant laws (including anti-discrimination laws), and Life Insurance Code of Practice requirements.

While assessing applications, our Underwriters have access to professional advice and support in relevant disciplines – such as from medical specialists and accountants – when needed.

Claims time

We will treat our policy owners with empathy, compassion, and respect throughout the claims process.

We will not discourage them from making a claim and if they tell us that they are having trouble providing the information we need, we will work with them to take steps to find a solution.

We have specific processes to support customers who are making income-related claims including working with doctors, other healthcare providers and employers to support our customers recovery, rehabilitation and return to work.