Sportscover Family and Domestic Violence Policy
Our Customers safety is our number one priority
Sportscover Australia (Sportscover) supports our Customer’s affected by Family or Domestic Violence. Your safety is our priority, if there is an immediate threat to you or your loved ones, please call emergency services on 000.
Effective Date
01 July 2020
Purpose
The purpose of this Policy is to set out the standards of conduct undertaken by Sportscover Australia in accordance with the General Insurance Code of Practice (the Code) and we will adhere to assisting our Customers who may be experiencing Family or Domestic Violence.
We are committed to assisting our Customers that may be affected by Family or Domestic Violence with sensitivity, dignity, respect and compassion.
We recognise that family violence unfortunately is a serious and prevalent occurrence in Australian society. We aim to provide affected customers with safe, supportive, timely and flexible assistance.
Scope
This Policy relates to all Sportscover Customers.
Variations:
This Policy may be varied from time to time.
Definitions
“Customer, You, Your” means an individual insured, a third-party beneficiary, a potential customer or an individual an insurer is seeking to recover money from.
“Family Violence” means violence, threatening, or other behaviour by a person that coerces or controls a member of the person’s family, or causes the family member to be fearful, including by way of:
- Physical violence;
- Emotional abuse;
- Psychological abuse;
- Sexual abuse;
- Financial or economic abuse; or
- Damage to property.
“We, Us, Our” means Sportscover Australia Pty Ltd.
Our Commitment
We are committed to supporting customers through these tough times with respect, flexibility, dignity and care. This means we will make reasonable adjustments and put in place appropriate support to take account of these support needs and provide access to flexible options. This may include referring to additional support, such as people or services with specialist training and experience.
We have internal policies and training appropriate to our employees’ roles to help them understand if you may be vulnerable, and decide how best, and to what extent, we can support you.
We are committed to taking extra care with customers who experience vulnerability. We recognise that a person’s vulnerabilities can give rise to unique needs, and that their needs can change over time and in response to particular situations. A person’s vulnerability may be due to a range of factors and we encourage you to tell us about your vulnerability so that we can work with you to arrange support.
If you are experiencing Financial Hardship, please see below information about the support we can provide to you.
Training
We provide appropriate training to all Customer facing employees to help:
- Understand if you may be vulnerable.
- Identify, support and avoid harm to Customers affected by Family or Domestic Violence.
- Protect private and confidential, and personal information of Customers affected by Family or Domestic Violence.
- Minimise the number of times Customers affected by Family or Domestic Violence need to disclose information about Family or Domestic Violence.
- Engage with you with sensitivity, dignity, respect and compassion. This may include arranging additional support, including referring you to people or services with specialist training and experience.
We will review and update our Training on a regular basis and as required to ensure our employees engage effectively and appropriately with affected customers and how to apply this Policy.
How we can help
We understand if you are experiencing difficult circumstances and we are ready to provide the additional support you may need from us at this time. Please contact us on (03) 8562 9100.
Private and Confidential Information
We are committed to the security of your personal information and will engage with you to determine your preferred methods of communication. We will minimise the need for customers to repeat disclosure.
You may ask a support person to contact us, such as a financial or legal counsellor, your Insurance Broker or anyone else you deem appropriate. We need your permission to talk to your support person so, if you wish to have them act on your behalf, you will need to provide us with a written “Letter of Authority” that confirms this.
Claims Handling
Our claims staff will handle your claim with flexibility, transparency and care. For our customers experiencing family or domestic violence, and/or in urgent financial need of the benefits of their policy, we endeavour to fast-track both our assessment of the claim and the process we follow to make a decision about the claim.
To find out more, or request your claim be fast tracked, please contact our dedicated claims team on 1300 134 956 (Australia only) or via email asiapac.claims@sportscover.com
Financial Hardship Assistance
We understand that financial difficulties can affect anyone. We believe in treating our customers with respect, empathy and in a non-judgemental manner.
We also understand that each customer’s circumstances are unique and will work with them to identify the type of assistance that best suits their situation.
Financial hardship requests are generally received by Sportscover in relation to an open insurance claim. In addition to the Code’s existing requirements concerning Financial Hardship, we will fast-track each financial hardship request and provide options for the customer to assist them whilst their claim is being managed.
Referrals and Support Services Available:
The following is a list of specialist and support service providers that may be able to assist you if you are experience family or domestic violence. We do not have any affiliation or relationship with these organisations and are not responsible for any assistance services they have provide.
| Location | Organisation | Contact number |
| Australia wide | 1800 RESPECT – www.1800respect.org.au | 1800 737 732 |
| Australia wide | Lifeline – www.lifeline.org.au | 13 11 14 |
| Australia wide | Mensline – www.mensline.org.au | 1300 789 978 |
| Australia wide | Beyond Blue – www.beyondblue.org.au | 1300 224 636 |
| Australia wide | National debt helpline – www.ndh.org.au | 1800 007 007 |
| ACT | Domestic violence crisis service – www.dvcs.org.au
Legal Aid ACT helpline – www.legalaidact.org.au |
6280 0900
1300 654 314 |
| NSW | NSW Domestic violence helpline – www.facs.nsw.gov.au/domestic-violence/helpline
LawAccess NSW – www.lawaccess.nsw.gov.au
Legal Aid NSW – www.legalaid.nsw.gov.au/what-we-do/domestic-violence |
1800 656 463
1300 888 529 |
| NT | Northern Territory Legal Aid Commission helpline – www.legalaid.nt.gov.au | 1800 019 343
|
| QLD | DV connect – www.dvconnect.org
Legal Aid Queensland |
1800 811 811
1300 651 118 |
| SA | Legal Services Commission of South Australia – www.lsc.sa.gov.au | 1800 366 424 |
| TAS | Family violence counselling and support service
Legal aid commission of Tasmania – www.legalaid.tas.gov.au |
1800 608 122
1300 366 611 |
| VIC | Safe steps – www.safesteps.org.au
Victoria legal aid – www.legalaid.vic.gov.au/find-legal-answers |
1800 015 188
1300 792 387 |
| WA | Domestic violence helpline
Legal aid – Western Australia www.legalaid.wa.gov.au/find-legal-answers/family-violence-and-your-safety |
1800 007 339
1300 650 579 |