Access & Equity

Access & Equity Policy

At MHIA, we believe everyone has an equal right to access our information and our services. We are committed to treating you fairly, whatever your circumstances, and to making our products easy to reach and easy to use.

This document sets out our commitments to you. We review it regularly and update it when our practices or obligations change.

Access means our services are available to everyone who is entitled to them, free from discrimination.

Equity means we develop and deliver those services on a fair basis to everyone who is eligible to receive them.

Our services are open to any person without discrimination. These rights are protected by State and Federal law, including:

• Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 (NSW)
• Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth)
• Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986 (Cth)
• Age Discrimination Act 2004 (Cth)
• Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Cth)
• Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth)

How we make our services accessible

Because most of what we do happens over the phone, you can deal with us without travelling to our office. Practical ways we support access and equity include:

• Phone-based service – Most transactions are completed over the telephone, so you do not need to attend our office in person to take out, change, or claim on a policy.
• National Relay Service – If you are deaf, or have a hearing or speech impairment that makes the phone difficult, you can reach us through the National Relay Service.
• Language support – If your first language is not English, we will assist where practical and can arrange access to interpreting or translation services, including the free Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS National) on 131 450.
• Help putting things in writing – We can take a complaint over the phone if writing is difficult for you, so you are never disadvantaged by having to put something in writing yourself.
• Support for people on lower incomes – We offer a toll-free phone number, payment by instalments, reply-paid envelopes, and time to pay your policy.
• Help in financial hardship – We have procedures for handling financial hardship, including the way we manage claims during catastrophes and disasters. Our Financial Hardship Policy explains how we can help.

Note: If something about the way we communicate or deliver our services makes it harder for you to deal with us, please tell us. We will look for a reasonable way to assist.

Supporting vulnerable customers

We recognise that some customers may experience vulnerability due to personal circumstances, including:

• Financial hardship
• Illness or disability
• Family violence
• Bereavement
• Language barriers
• Age-related needs
• Natural disasters or catastrophic events

If you tell us about circumstances that make dealing with us more difficult, we will work with you to identify reasonable ways to provide support and assistance. Our Vulnerability and Family Violence Policy, available on our website, explains this support in detail.

Fair treatment and complaints

We will deal with every complaint fairly and promptly, and in line with the General Insurance Code of Practice. We encourage you to raise any concern with a member of our team so we can put it right.

Our management team is responsible for developing and applying our policies and is available to help with your questions or respond to a complaint. If we cannot resolve your concern, you can ask for it to be reviewed through our complaints process, and you can take it to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) at no cost to you.

Contact us

We are here to help.

• Phone: 1800 67 67 00
• Email: info@mhia.com.au
• Mail: PO Box 3597, Tuggerah NSW 2259

Our commitment

Everyone who deals with MHIA has an equal right to our information and our services. We will keep removing barriers, treat you fairly whatever your circumstances, and make it as easy as we can for you to reach us and be heard.