One of the issues stemming from last week’s announcement of the Female Excellence in Advice Award forms the basis for our latest riskinfo poll question, which asks:
Would the introduction of more female risk advisers have a meaningful positive impact on Australia’s underinsurance crisis?
This question relates to underinsurance and gender inequality in the financial services sector. While the Female Excellence in Advice Award is one that spans the full range of advice solutions, our poll is considering the impact of more female advisers on the life insurance sector.
…women prefer to speak with other women about their investment and insurance needs
In originally launching the Award, its Patron and former NSW Opposition Leader, Kerry Chikarovski, reflected on the lack of numbers of female advisers in the financial services industry, but observed that it was a fact of life that women prefer to speak with other women about their investment and insurance needs.
Speaking to riskinfo at the MLC Risk Specialist Network Risk Retreat, Adelaide-based adviser Sim Senesi said she supports the notion that women do like dealing with other women, but suggested one reason the life insurance and broader financial services industry has historically not been attractive to women as a career relates to its remuneration structures. Ms Sinesi added, however, that as the industry evolves towards a more ‘professional’ model, the greater certainty or guarantee of income may have a positive impact on more women adopting a career in financial advice.
But irrespective of whether women prefer to speak with other women about their investment and insurance needs, the fact remains that female consumers are often not given a choice to deal with a female adviser, given the overall lack of numbers of female advisers in the industry today.
If this is the case, then surely an injection of more female financial advisers who include risk advice as part of their services would have a meaningful impact on underinsurance.
Is this a solid contention, or is it simply a good theory that won’t work in practice? Would new female advisers be confronted by the same issues facing existing male and female advisers when it comes to the fact that insurance is a solution that is sold and not bought?
Even so, would not the introduction of more financial advisers and more female financial advisers in particular, be a good thing for the life insurance industry in addressing the underinsurance dilemma, particularly amongst female consumers?
And why does there remain such a gender imbalance in the financial advice sector? Why, in 2011, does such a gap still exist between male and female adviser numbers?
Let us know what you think…
