A survey conducted by ING Australia reports a growing trend that elevates the importance of risk insurance services as a key product differentiator in employer superannuation products.
The survey, conducted for ING by Taylor & Associates in December 2008, asked 200 advisers around Australia what they felt were the important features of superannuation providers and their products.
According to the survey, the top three criteria for advisers when selecting an employer superannuation provider were:
- The accuracy of administration processing
- The quality and efficiency of administrative processing
- The quality and satisfaction of insurance underwriting and claims
While the top two elements remain unchanged from the same survey in 2007, ’satisfaction of insurance underwriting and claims’ has moved into third position.
Commenting that this indicator, along with others in the survey pointing to the growing importance of insurance as a differentiator in employer super, ING Australia Head of Product & Marketing, Wealth Management, Mark Pankurst, said, “Increasingly, employers, advisers, and members see the benefits of better insurance offerings through employer superannuation. As many Australians are currently underinsured, taking insurance through superannuation is a cost-effective and simple way of gaining cover.”
Mr Pankhurst continued, “It’s very simple to access insurance through superannuation and important that members have adequate cover.”
Other key points that emerged from the survey include:
- Online service functionality continued to move up the ranks in importance
- Almost all respondents sourced new business from referrals from existing clients and other advisers
- More than 60 per cent of advisers are looking to expand their involvment in employer super in the future
