New Zealand’s largest life insurer rolls out nurse-led application assistance programme

Free service sees nurses visit customers at home or work to collect basic medical information as part of the application process.

AIA is pleased to announce that, Sovereign’s successful HealthScreen service is being offered to AIA’s customers.

HealthScreen gives customers the option of having a nurse visit them at home or work to take blood tests and collect basic medical information, to support insurance applications.

22 nurses are employed from Whangarei to Invercargill to carry out HealthScreen tests. Between June 2017 and July 2018, HealthScreen nurses visited 4,150 customers throughout New Zealand.

The HealthScreen programme is unique to AIA and Sovereign.

AIA/Sovereign’s Chief Customer Officer, Sharron-Moana Botica, says HealthScreen not only speeds up applications – for the benefit of both customers and the insurer – but it also gives customers a more positive experience. 

“Between July 2017 and June 2018, customers who used the HealthScreen service rated their experience extremely positively, with an average score of four point six out of five − five being the highest possible rating,” she says. 

Sharron-Moana says the positive feedback from customers is not surprising.

“Most people appreciate a bit of face-to-face assistance, especially when doing something that can be a significant undertaking. And of course the convenience of receiving a visit when and where it suits them most is also a big positive for people.” 

“When we announced the integration of AIA and Sovereign, we said we’d be bringing together the best of the best from the two companies, for the sake of making New Zealand one of the healthiest and most-protected nations in the world. The adoption of HealthScreen is just one example of how we’re putting that into practice,” Sharron-Moana says.

HealthScreen nurses take blood for testing, document medical histories, take blood pressure readings and asses BMI to assist during the insurance application process. Customers’ use of the service is entirely voluntary, and comes free of charge. 

Queenstown based HealthScreen nurse, Phillipa Dobson Brown says “customers are more receptive of having an assessment or being provided with health information when they are in their own environment.”

Auckland based HealthScreen Nurse, Julie Komorowski says “the service is particularly valued by people during work hours because we take about 30-45 minutes to complete a medical and obtain bloods where as if they have to see their GP and local labtest they require more time off work.”

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About AIA and Sovereign: 

In New Zealand AIA and Sovereign together employ almost 900 people. Since AIA arrived in New Zealand in 1981, it has consistently provided the market with innovative personal and business insurance products that suit the Kiwi way of life. In July 2018, the AIA Group acquired Sovereign, becoming the largest life insurer in New Zealand. AIA and Sovereign offer a complete range of risk management products that focus on the needs of customers. The companies are both based in Auckland, with regional offices in Hamilton, Wellington and Christchurch. Both companies are members of the Insurance and Financial Services Ombudsman Scheme and the Health Funds Association of New Zealand. AIA New Zealand has an insurer financial strength rating from Standard and Poor’s of AA-. Sovereign has a rating of A+, from AM Best.