Extra care and support
Members needing extra care and support
It’s important that all our members are treated with care and respect and that our products and services are accessible to all our members.
We know that from time to time some of our members may need extra assistance to manage their health insurance or to join Southern Cross as a member.
Some reasons why members may need extra care in accessing our products and services include:
- Health and physical factors: Such as physical or mental health conditions
- Language barriers: Where English is not their first language
- Age-related issues: Ranging from a lack of access to technology to lack of mental capacity
- Life situations: Going through tough times - like losing a loved one or other periods of intense personal stress such as loss of employment or financial hardship
We understand that these circumstances can be temporary, degenerative, or permanent. Everyone is unique and has different needs. That’s why we aim to respond to each member in a way that suits their individual needs. Our customer-facing teams are trained to recognise when extra support is needed and to respond appropriately .
Our Support Options
If you feel that you, or someone you represent, needs extra support, please contact us. We respect your privacy, and we will only use this type of information to offer any additional support you might need. Every situation is different, and we aim to support you, keeping your specific needs in mind. Here are some examples of how we can help:
How you communicate with us
You can contact us by phone or email. If you have a preferred way for us to communicate with you, please let us know and we will do our best to meet your needs. If you prefer to get in touch with by email the best place to get started is by using our contact us forms.
Authorised caller
You can nominate someone, called an authorised caller, to help manage your policy. This person is usually a family member, but can also be a trusted friend, an independent financial adviser, or another reliable person.
Enduring Power of Attorney
If you have an Enduring Power of Attorney in place, you can nominate the Attorney to assist in managing your policy. Should you become unable to do this for yourself, the Attorney can manage your policy on your behalf (including making changes to your cover or looking after payments).
Put your policy on hold during financial hardship
If you, or the person that you represent, are experiencing financial hardship (that is - you have lost your taxable income and are no longer in paid work), you can put a policy on hold for a period of up to 3 months. During this time, a member can’t make any claims, but they won’t pay any premium and their membership will remain active.
We are always looking for ways to better support you
There are many reasons why our members may need extra care and support, and our current options may not address every issue that our members face. As our products and services change over time, so will the needs of the members that we serve – and we will continue to grow our culture of care and support.
Let us know if something isn’t right
If you feel that our team or a representative of Southern Cross hasn’t met your expectations, please know that we take your concerns seriously. We will investigate any such complaint using our established complaints process. Your satisfaction and wellbeing are important to us.