The outlook for the life insurance market remains positive, with predictions of continued growth over the next fifteen years.
In releasing its annual Risk Insurance Market Projections report, researcher Rice Warner says the total risk insurance market will more than double in the fifteen years to 2026. However, the growth rate of 8.4% per annum is slightly slower than experienced in recent years.
While the strongest growth is predicted for the superannuation and mastertrust insurance segment, with sales expected to grow at 10% per annum over the next fifteen years, sales of adviser sold retail risk are also expected to grow at 9% per annum.
Richard Weatherhead, a Director of Rice Warner Actuaries, said this growth could be attributed to a number of factors.
“Under the MySuper legislation, there will be standardised insurance definitions, and some features will not be available, like own-occupation TPD for example, which may make it (insurance inside superannuation) less attractive.”
… we may see a trend towards insurance outside super so investors can maximise their contributions
“We’ve also, most recently, seen the Government announce a freeze on indexation for superannuation contribution caps. This means we may see a trend towards insurance outside super so investors can maximise their contributions,” he added.
Other factors contributing to the predicted growth include:
- Technological influence, making it easier for customers to obtain cover and distributors to identify insurance needs
- A significant increase in the take-up of intra-fund and scaled advice
- A shift away from standard risk insurance offerings to understanding individual customers’ circumstances and needs
According to Rice Warner, the area of greatest opportunity is likely to be income protection cover. The researcher attributes this to the current average level of cover per head at only 15% of earnings, compared with what it estimates as a reasonable target of 85% of earnings.
