On 12 September 2015, we made changes to the way couples and families on our Comprehensive Extras cover could claim on dental benefits.

Prior to the change, any one person covered under the policy was able to claim up to the overall annual dental limit. After 12 September 2015, we introduced a per-person limit, which set the maximum amount that any one person could claim to half of the overall annual dental limit.

We're sorry about the impact that this change may have had on some of our members.

Why we made this change

• In 2013, we removed dental sub-limits from Comprehensive Extras. This gave our members more control over how they spent their annual dental limit. We had also originally planned to introduce a per-person limit at the same time, but that change did not go ahead.
• After making the change we found that dental claims were increasing at a much higher rate than we'd anticipated (largely as a result of not introducing the per-person limit). And that if we left everything unchanged, the high rate of dental claims would grow significantly over coming years.
• Comprehensive Extras is a popular product, and we wanted to continue to be able to offer it to our members. That meant we had the option of either increasing the price or reducing the benefits in order to protect the product's financial viability.
• By introducing per-person limits for dental in 2015, we were able to address the unexpectedly high level of dental claims, which helped us to limit future price increases. This change also brought Comprehensive Extras into line with our other extras products (which have per-person dental limits) and helped to make it easier for customers to compare benefits across products.

What we didn't understand at the time

We didn't fully appreciate the impact that making this change part way through the calendar year would have on some of our members.

With this change, any amounts claimed prior to 12 September counted towards each member's per-person dental limit for the remainder of the 2015 calendar year. This meant that some members had already exceeded their new per-person limit when the change came into effect, which in turn, may have affected their claiming behaviour for the remainder of 2015. It may also have affected members who had a course of dental treatment planned that they had to delay as a result of the change.

What we are doing about it

This change was investigated by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). As a result, the ACCC has accepted a court-enforceable undertaking from us that ensures we financially compensate members who were likely to have been impacted by this change.

Some of the things we're doing as part of this undertaking include

• Changing our processes: We do our best to minimise changes to policies. In the future, where we make changes to benefits that are represented on an annual or calendar year basis, these changes will take effect on 1 January.
• Compensating affected members: In addition to saying sorry, we are providing financial compensation to members likely to be affected by this change.

How we are compensating members

If we identify you as someone who may have been impacted by this change, you'll receive a letter from us outlining the financial compensation that may be available to you.

If you believe you were impacted and you haven't received a letter by 1 December 2017, please contact us on 1300 734 506.

As part of the financial compensation, we're inviting affected members to submit any claims for dental services received between 12 September and 31 December 2015 that were not submitted at the time due to the per person dental limit change.

• To submit a dental claim: Complete and sign this claim form, and then send the form together with all relevant receipts to Australian Unity. (You can find all of our contact details on the claim form.)

Again, we're sorry about the impact that this change may have had on some members.

Want to find out more about the changes we can make to your policy and the laws and rules that we're bound by? We've created an overview page for you here.