AustralianSuper moves, again, to insource key function

As part of its progressive insourcing push, AustralianSuper will move to internalise its death claims management as well as bolster its in-house complaints handling capability.

The super fund, Australia’s biggest, announced it will establish a new Bereavement Centre to handle death claims internally.

AustralianSuper chief operating officer Peter Curtis said the move to internalise these “complex and specialist processes”, planned for completion by the end of the 2023/24 financial year, would enable it to leverage “the specialist expertise of our internal team to provide additional support during these challenging times”.

“Our focus is on providing members and their loved ones with a personalised, timely and seamless experience when they interact with their Fund and their retirement savings,” Curtis said.

The internalisation of these capabilities follows a decision late last year to transition to a new claims assessment model with insurance partner, TAL, which, the super fund said, “[reflects] the specialist skills required to efficiently manage these processes”.

“Managing death claims efficiently and with empathy and care is the final service we can provide members, and we take this responsibility seriously. That’s why we’re committed to ensuring their savings are paid to their loved ones quickly and compassionately through the establishment of a dedicated Bereavement Centre.”

He said the fund has already made improvements in how it manages death claims and complaints, “increasing the size of the team responsible for managing these claims and simplifying the way these services are delivered”.

Despite the insourcing push, the fund has also announced it will extend its commercial and contractual partnership with Link Group.

The proposed deal, inked as part of a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), will see Link extend its provision of core administration services to the super fund until at least 2028. AustralianSuper is a minor shareholder in Link, holding a less than 0.2% stake in the managed services provider.

AustralianSuper manages more than A$300 billion in members’ retirement savings on behalf of more than 3.3 million.