More than half of life insurance claims made by retail customers are now lodged over the phone, Westpac-owned wealth manager BT says.

Since the launch of its tele-claims service in 2010, the number of claims processed over the phone has steadily increased, making up 58% of new monthly lodgements for benefit payments across trauma, life, terminal illness and other income protection cover.

BT says making a tele-claim reduces the decision-making time by up to four weeks, from notification of a claim to first payment into the customer’s bank account. Customers spend on average 45 minutes on the phone to submit supporting information for their claims.

“Over the years BT has looked for opportunities to streamline life insurance processes, so we can improve the customer experience,” Head of Claims Neil Borthwick said.

These include tele-interviewing people who are applying for life insurance, through to tele-claims and using medical e-certificates.”