Effective from 1 July 2019, MLC Life Insurance (MLCL) in conjunction with NULIS Nominees (Australia) Limited (the policy holder) made improvements to the TPD insurance cover provided to members of MLC MasterKey Business Super and MLC MasterKey Personal Super. 

This includes removing the Activities of Daily Living (ADL) component of the TPD definition for TPD claim events that occurred on or after 1 July 2019, with members now assessed against an ETE (Experience, Training, Education) definition. Going forward, we expect the proportion of TPD claims assessed under the ADL definition to reduce. 

We want super fund members and policy holders to have confidence in their insurance cover, and we continue to work on making improvements to the insurance experience for them. 

In 2019, MLC Life Insurance paid out more than $1bn in claims. Particularly in relation to group insurance TPD claims, we admitted 82% in the first half of 2019. Overall, we admitted more than 90% of claims (between 1 July 2017 and 30 June 2018). 

On Mr Joyce’s claim: 

We assess all claims empathetically, professionally and in line with industry standards as set out under the Life Insurance Code of Practice.

While we cannot comment on the specifics of Mr Joyce’s case, we believe we have made a fair assessment of his claim against the requirements of the policy. This included an additional review of the original claim decision.