Financial advisers are seeking greater efficiencies from life insurers to reduce end costs to clients according to TAL, which has stated that insurers need to ‘own their part’ in providing beneficial services to advisers.
TAL, Group Chief Executive and Managing Director, Brett Clark said feedback from financial advisers via the insurer’s website has centred around advocacy and business efficiencies.
“Advisers are after content that helps them tell their stories broadly. Additionally, advisers are asking insurers to help them deliver life insurance products and services more efficiently to customers and help them reduce the costs to service their clients,” Clark said.
Clark said the feedback from advisers showed that advisers were committed to their clients and asked for further information about areas of assistance.
“I am calling on all advisers to keep telling us what they would like to see from us. Their feedback, insights, comments and discussions are critical for ideas to be put into reality. A collaborative approach will ensure we invest in the right projects and we are committed to taking positive steps towards our future shared success.”
At the same time Clark said insurers had a part to play in dealing with adviser related issues as well as improving their own ability to deliver products and services more efficiently.
“Life insurers must own their part in providing solutions that make a material difference to an advisers’ business, so together we can deliver a better outcome for Australians,” he said.
“We must work harder on becoming a more efficient industry. Some of the practices and customer outcomes are no longer acceptable by modern standards. We have made incremental improvements around the edges over the last few years, but we need more substantive breakthroughs.”
“The future of the life insurer and adviser relationship must continue to evolve from merely transactional to an efficient and seamless partnership.”
“I am calling on all advisers to keep telling us what they would like to see from us”
Brett we would like to see TAL support clawbacks remaining at one year post 1/7/16 so that we can still continue to afford writing new risk business.
If clawbacks were reduced from 2 years to 1 year, then on the 1 year anniversary + 1 day, a churner could rewrite the policy for the upfront again. That would be no different to what they may do now but the 2 year clawback may discourage that aspect? That’s the only explanation I can see for it.
Yes a churner could do that GAA but they are a minority and can (have already) be dealt with by insurers and in some cases their licensees. My feedback in response to the statement from Brett at TAL asking for such was simply designed to present what many advisers are considering doing by ceasing to write any further new risk business post 1/7/16 given the “to 60% year 2 clawback” now places far greater financial risk on the majority of advisers who operate as small advice businesses not being able to assorb the potential loss of $$$ from a larger clawback period should the client discontinue for any reason other than a claim. This risk currently rests with insurance companies such as TAL who are owned by one of the worlds largest insurance companies from Japan named Dai-ichi.
A drop of 30-50% income with a 3 year clawback means that you would have to be insane to continue to write new business. That’s the feedback Brett.
TAL’s admin is currently the worst it has been in years but my suggestion would be not to look to improve it. It will improve itself when you are getting no new business this time next year.
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