Life had seemed to have a bright future for Steven when disaster struck at age 40.  Recently married with a new baby and a successful landscaping business, he had a massive heart attack and died leaving a young wife and young child with a small amount of life cover.

Steven knew he needed more cover and had only spoken to his adviser the week before.  The lesson is get the life cover now when healthy and needed.

 All things being equal, a life claim can take a few weeks to process from start to finish, with obtaining the necessary information like completed claim form and death certificate dictating how quickly we can process the claim.  There are times however when Asteron is able to settle claims very quickly.

 In two recent, and very similar cases, Asteron was able to process life claims within 24 hours.

 ''In each case there was a urgent need for funds to begin funeral arrangements,'' says Asteron Claims Manager, Chris Bell.  ''Following the initial phone call the claim form was provide to the clients by fax and the required signatures and support information were returned to Asteron the same day.''

 ''Our staff were highly motivated to help these people and everything fell into place.  Within 24 hours of the initial phone call, the funds were available in the client's bank account.''

 ''We felt very good about that.''

 Marianne was 46 years old.  She worked in the banking industry and as part of her employment package had Like Cover provided by Sovereign.

 In March of 1997, she went to see her doctor as she hadn't been feeling well for some time.  Her doctor diagnosed her condition as cancer of the gall bladder.  The doctor also advised that her illness was terminal and that unfortunately she was unlikely to live longer than 12 months.  Marianne was suddenly faced with the prospect of trying to make the most of the time she had left, as well as ensuring that the loved ones she would inevitably leave behind would be provided for by her estate.

 A letter from her doctor was sent to Sovereign confirming that Marianne had less than 12 months to live.  With in hand, the following day Sovereign paid her a lump sum terminal illness benefit of $93,000, which equated to the total amount of her Life Cover.