Operations update - new industry standard

Introduction of industry-standard for the collection of customers' health information

The FSC and its members have worked with the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners to produce an industry standard medical consent for the collection of customers’ health information. The consent was originally slated for use from 1 July 2020, however, was delayed due to the impacts of COVID-19 on both insurers and health professionals. 

We will commence using this for underwriting applications within the next few weeks. 

The standardised consent will inform customers as to when and how the consent will be used and has two components. The first (Authority 1) provides us with the authority to request a report from their health professional; the second (Authority 2) provides us with the authority to access a copy of their health record, including consultation notes. 

We will always attempt to get a report from the customer’s health professional in the first instance. After four weeks, if the health professional has not provided a report, we may request a copy of the health record including consultation notes. We will only do this with completion of Authority 2.  

The new consent will form part of the Accelerated Protection online application process; the consent will be presented with three options: agreement to Authority 1, Authorities 1 & 2, or no authority. 

The stand-alone form ‘Consent for accessing Health Information’ will also be updated and available on the TAL Adviser Centre

We will require this consent to be completed when we need a medical report to complete the assessment of your client’s application for insurance. 

Under the Standard, each time your client applies for cover or makes a claim, we will require a fresh consent to be completed. Each time their consent is used, we will inform you.

For more information about the Standard, please see the Accelerated Protection Adviser Guide.

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