BOQ Extends Hardship Relief to Victims of Cyclone Yasi and Commits to Help Rebuild Those Communities
Friday, 04/02/2011
BOQ has extended its hardship relief measures to assist those impacted by Cyclone Yasi and has committed to helping rebuild those communities.
A special hardship package, initially developed for victims of the floods that ran from Central Queensland down to Victoria, will be offered to victims of Cyclone Yasi and includes relief measures for both personal and business customers.
In announcing the extension, BOQ Managing Director David Liddy said BOQ customers should rest assured that the Bank was keen to help them through this difficult time.
“We understand many of our customers are feeling overwhelmed following the recent extreme weather events and the last thing we want is for them to be worrying about their finances at this time,” said Mr Liddy.
“We would encourage any impacted customers to call our special Hotline - 1800 079 866 – and we have dedicated staff ready to help.
“It is also worth mentioning that any customers who bought a Vero Home & Contents policy through BOQ are covered for cyclone damage.”
Mr Liddy also announced that the Bank would be expanding its Rebuilding Communities Program to help the impacted communities.
“We launched our Rebuilding Communities in the aftermath of the floods because we saw this as a way of genuinely helping the communities impacted.
“We are in the process of finalising our first donations through this Program, to help some of the worst impacted communities in Brisbane.
“Given the devastation we are seeing in Far North Queensland, we have decided that it’s absolutely vital we roll this same program out to the impacted communities there.
“Community groups are often the heart beat of these local areas and we think by identifying and funding their specific needs, we can speed up the process of getting these groups back on their feet."
Key features of the special relief package include:
Personal customers
• Opportunity to suspend Home Loan and Personal loan repayments for a period
• Waive Home Loan and Personal Loan monthly fees for a period
• Access to discounted interest rates on Personal Loans taken out for the purpose of purchasing replacement goods
• Waive early withdrawal fees for those customers wishing to access money from their Term Deposits to get back on their feet over the next month
• Credit card repayment relief where appropriate
Small Business Customers
• Opportunity to suspend business loan repayments for a period
• Opportunity to vary business loans and waive the establishment fees on these variations where appropriate
• Opportunity to defer repayments on Equipment Finance facilities for a period
• Refund merchant fees for a period
• Access to a priority replacement service for damaged EFTPOS terminals
Insurance Enquiries
• If you have a Mortgage or Personal Loan protected with St Andrew’s Credit Protection Insurance, depending on the level of protection chosen, you may have cover for Life, Accident or Illness, or Involuntary Unemployment. St Andrew’s have set up a dedicated crisis centre to assist BOQ policyholders with any queries they have in relation to their policy. Please contact 1300 653 751 for further assistance.
• If you have a Vero Home & Contents policy* through BOQ, your policy includes automatic cover for flood damage. Please call the Vero Claims team on 1800 132 223 and press #4 to lodge a claim. We encourage affected customers to lodge their insurance claims as soon as possible.
• Customers with a Vero Home & Contents policy* through BOQ can rest assured that their policy provides cover for cyclone damage. Vero’s Customer Response Teams are on standby and ready to deploy in the disaster areas to provide immediate support to customers in their time of need.
*Please refer to your Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) and Policy Wording for full terms and conditions. Insurance is issued by Vero Insurance Limited.
