TAL Takes Out 2012 Life Company of the Year Honour

Specialist risk insurer, TAL, has won the prestigious Platinum Award as the 2012 Plan For Life/AFA Life Company of the Year.

The announcement was made at an industry event in Sydney earlier this afternoon, at which OnePath and BT Financial Group filled the runners-up positions in the Platinum Award, behind TAL.

TAL also won the Platinum Award last year, and jointly shared the 2010 Award with CommInsure, as TOWER Australia. The insurer won the Term/TPD Product Award and was a finalist in two other categories. It was also a finalist in the Underwriting and New Business Team of the Year, one of the new service awards introduced for 2012, presented by the AFA in association with riskinfo and the Beddoes Institute.

AFA CEO, Brad Fox, said that while too many Australians are still uninsured, the range of award winners proves that those who are insured are well protected:

The incredibly thorough process we follow ensures that these awards represent the premier life company awards in Australia

“The incredibly thorough process we follow ensures that these awards represent the premier life company awards in Australia,” he said. “It’s from this position that we can confirm with confidence that Australian life companies are indeed committed to delivering excellent service and product solutions for Australians.”

In a year where it appears that Australia’s specialist life insurance companies have generally performed very well, the overall Service Quality Award was won by Asteron Life, while Asteron Life, OnePath and AIA Australia became the inaugural winners in the three new Client Service Team Awards.

The 2012 PFL/AFA Life Company of the Year Award Winners are:

Platinum Award – 2012 Life Company of the Year

• Winner: TAL
• Finalists: OnePath, BT Financial Group

Service Quality Award

• Winner: Asteron Life
• Finalists: TAL, AIA Australia, CommInsure

Term Life/TPD Award

• Winner: TAL
• Finalists: AMP Elevate, Zurich

Trauma Award

• Winner: OnePath
• Finalists: AMP Elevate, MLC

Income Protection Award

• Winner: CommInsure
• Finalists: AMP Elevate, TAL

Risk Product Innovation Award

• Winner: MLC Riskfirst Rapid
• Finalists: BT Financial Group, Macquarie Life

Investment Bond Results

• Winner: CommInsure
• Finalists: Austock, Lifeplan

Annuity Provider of the Year

• Winner: Challenger
• Finalists: CommInsure, BT Financial Group

Long Term Income Stream

• Winner: Challenger
• Finalist: CommInsure

Annuity & Income Stream Innovation

• Winner: Challenger – Care Annuity
• Finalists: MLC, MetLife

New Client Service Awards

Underwriting and New Business Team of the Year

• Winner: Asteron Life
• Finalists: BT Financial Group, TAL

Claims Team of the Year

• Winner: OnePath
• Finalists: Zurich, AIA Australia

Business Services/BDM Team of the Year

• Winner: AIA Australia
• Finalists: Asteron Life, Macquarie Life