From time to time, updates are made to NobleOak’s Benefit Fund Rules. These Rules form the basis of your insurance products as outlined in the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS). As an APRA regulated Friendly Society, NobleOak is required by APRA to inform you of any of these updates to the Rules, even if you are not impacted by these changes.

Please note: There is no change to the terms of the insurance cover you currently have in place as a result of the changes to the Rules. This is for your information only, and no action is required of you.

Summary of changes to the Benefit Fund Rules

The changes to the Rules have been considered carefully by NobleOak to ensure that they do not prejudice your interests, as an existing customer / member of the Fund. The summary below outlines key changes only. As noted in the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) applicable to your cover, members may request to view the full Benefit Rules at any time.

(i) New Company Constitution
A new Constitution was approved by NobleOak shareholders effective at the time of NobleOak Life Limited’s listing on the ASX, on 22 July 2021. Certain provisions in the previous Constitution which related to benefit fund members holding life insurance cover were transferred across into the Benefit Fund Rules. This meant that the Rules now set out the requirements for member meetings and related matters; and the Constitution sets out requirements for shareholder meetings (and accordingly is more appropriate for an ASX listed entity). NobleOak’s new Constitution is located on our website at www.nobleoak.com.au/corporate-governance/

(ii) New Income Protection Product
As of 1 October 2021, NobleOak’s previous Income Protection Insurance becomes no longer available for new customers /members in line with new regulatory changes. New members may apply for NobleOak’s new Income Protection (now called Disability Income Insurance) which meets APRA’s new requirements, including the amount of income that can be replaced and longer-term disability definitions. Importantly, the new guidelines don’t result in any change to the Income Protection Insurance already held by customers / members prior to 1 October 2021, including you.

Information about the new Disability Income Insurance is on the NobleOak website and details of the cover can be found in the updated PDS available on the website.

(iii) Duty to Take Reasonable Care
Recent changes to the law mean that the Duty of Disclosure has been replaced by a Duty to Take Reasonable Care which is now reflected in the Benefit Fund Rules for new applications. This means that when applying for insurance and answering the application questions, you are under a Duty to Take Reasonable Care not to make a misrepresentation. This means that you must take care not to provide a false answer, an answer that is only partially true, or an answer which does not fairly reflect the truth. The Duty also applies when extending or making changes to existing insurance, and reinstating insurance.

Like the earlier Duty of Disclosure, if the duty is not met, then cover could be avoided (treated as if it never existed), or its terms may be changed; this may also result in a claim being declined or a benefit being reduced. The full details of the duty are available in the current PDS available on the website.

If you have any questions regarding the changes to the Benefit Fund Rules or want to update and check details of your policy, please contact us on 1300 551 044.