Customer Assistance

Swiss Re International SE, Australia Branch ("Swiss Re") is committed to providing support to customers experiencing Financial Hardship. 

What is Financial Hardship?

"Financial Hardship" is where you have difficulty meeting your financial obligations to Swiss Re.  Financial hardship has all of the following characteristics:

• Significant – Financial hardship represents a significant impact on your ability to meet your financial obligations. This can be either caused by your ability to generate income or by additional unavoidable expenses.
• Urgent – Financial hardship requires immediate action to assist you to alleviate your financial situation.
• Unforeseen – Financial hardship is an unforeseen change to your situation that is outside your control. 
• Temporary – Financial hardship must be temporary, that is, not permanent, and you must expect that the financial emergency will pass.

Who is entitled to support under this Standard?

The following customers will be entitled to financial hardship support:

• an individual insured or a third-party beneficiary who owes Swiss Re money — including an excess — under an insurance policy issued by Swiss Re; 
• an individual that Swiss Re is seeking to recover money from because Swiss Re believes such individual caused damage or loss to either an individual insured, or a third-party beneficiary it covers under an insurance policy; and
• a customer making a claim under their policy due to an event that has caused them to also be in financial hardship and urgent financial need of the benefits they are entitled to under their policy. 

What support can be provided to a customer?

We will take a case-by-case approach in determining what support to provide to a customer. We are not required to provide support with paying general insurance premiums under an insurance policy issued by Swiss Re. However, support may include one or a combination of the following options:

• Granting an extension of due date for payment having considered all the evidence.
• Allowing payment in instalments, taking into account what the customer can afford and over what time frame. No reasonable request will be refused.
• Paying a reduced lump sum – We will clearly explain the change in premium and effect on the lump sum and that if you wish to increase your lump sum at a later date, you must go through underwriting, and where appropriate, amended documentation may be issued.
• Postponing one or more instalments. When making this assessment, we will give consideration to what is a reasonable time in which the customer will be able to make payment.

If you are experiencing financial hardship, please complete the Financial Hardship Application Form and send the completed Form to Swiss Re by email or by post:

Swiss Re Financial Hardship Team
Phone: +61 2 8295 9500
Email: [email protected]
Post: Level 36, Tower Two, International Towers Sydney 200 Barangaroo Avenue, Sydney NSW 2000 

For customers experiencing vulnerability and family violence, please see the information sheet outlining support services available to you.

For further information on how Swiss Re assesses financial hardship, please see our detailed Financial Hardship Policy.

Swiss Re is committed to taking extra care when interacting with customers who find themselves in vulnerable circumstances. Our Family Violence Policy sets out how Swiss Re will support customers who are affected by family violence.

Swiss Re's Privacy Policy sets out what personal information Swiss Re collects, holds, uses and discloses about its customers. It also sets out how customers can seek access to, and correction of, personal information and complain about a potential or actual breach of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) ("Privacy Act") and the Australian Privacy Principles ("APPs").

We are committed to protecting customer privacy and will handle personal information in accordance with this Privacy Policy and in accordance with Swiss Re's obligations under the Privacy Act, APPs and other relevant State legislation dealing with privacy and health records. 

For further information, please see our detailed Privacy Policy.

As a customer, you may complain about any aspect of your relationship with Swiss Re.

If you are dissatisfied with any aspect of your relationship with Swiss Re and wish to make a complaint, please see our Complaints Handling Policy.