IAG steps up response to COVID-19 threat

Australia’s largest general insurer has adopted a series of measures to support customers amid the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) threat.

Read more: Coronavirus to have implications for Australian businesses and insurance

IAG, along with its network of insurance brands, NRMA Insurance, CGU, WFI, SGIO, and SGIC, will implement the following key measures by March 30:

• Travel insurance refunds for any unused proportion of premiums, including full refunds where customers have not yet travelled and have not claimed under their policy, with no administration or cancellation fees;
• Deferred premium payments for up to six months for small businesses experiencing financial hardships;
• Refunds on the unused proportion of premiums for small businesses who cancel their insurance, with no administration or cancellation fees;
• Small businesses which need to close premises due to the impact of COVID-19 can maintain full insurance cover on the premises with no changes to premium, until June 30; and
• Reduced timeframes in making payments to suppliers from 30 to no more than 15 business days, until May 31.

Additional staff have also been mobilised to bolster the company’s ability to respond to customer needs quickly and efficiently.

“More than 90% of our people are now working from home, including our customer-facing staff who have been set up to work remotely since 2018,” said Peter Harmer, IAG managing director and CEO. “We are also employing up to an additional 400 people in the customer-facing parts of our business to help meet the needs of our customers at this time.”