Market entrant iExtend has made a number of senior appointments to its leadership and distribution teams including appointing Peter Clifford as QLD Distribution Manager.
The company says Clifford has spent more than 30-years in the financial services industry and held several insurance specialist roles with insurance providers, adviser licensees and in corporate superannuation. He will work alongside Mark Stubbings.
iExtend’s Head of Distribution Protip DasGupta says the recent hires, not only expand the firm’s national presence “…but brings together a deep team presence with experience across wealth insurance and superannuation.
The company also announced the appointment of former CEO of Perpetual and MLC, Geoff Lloyd as Chair of the Advisory Board, while industry stalwart and former Bankers Trust Australia Director and global partner of Bankers Trust NY, Rodney Payne is Chairman and Co-Founder.
A statement from the company says together these two appointments bring close to 70-years’ experience to the business.
Lloyd says that iExtend is providing those Australians who need it most, a no-cost lifeline in terms of maintaining a portion of their life insurance cover (see: Launch of iExtend.)
“iExtend represents an opportunity for the insurance industry to demonstrate its innovation and commitment to being there for Australians by providing life insurance policyholders who are committed to cancelling their policies with another option.”
The company says that Payne also brings considerable industry experience, bringing together and running profitable customer-centric businesses from Bankers Trust Australia to having founded Zurich Capital Markets in early 2000.
Addressing a Gap in the Market
He says iExtend fills a gap in the market, one which if addressed, “…can provide a lot more certainty and sustainability to insurance by helping Australians maintain valuable insurance life cover even when their circumstances change.”
Commenting on the appointments across the business, iExtend CEO David Sarkis says the company has a fresh and innovative offer “…and it is great to see that not only advisers are responding enthusiastically, but also experienced industry professionals who know iExtend is filling a gap in the life insurance market.”
“We are fortunate to have leading industry professionals at iExtend working to ensure advisers understand our offering and are provided the opportunity to retain and support clients in their best interest, despite having elected to cancel their life insurance,” he says.
Is it just me, or does this business model of underwriting potential clients, to determine their likelihood of death, and declining those in good health, seem immoral and possibly unethical?
Follow that up with, the paying a premium for the client and splitting some of the benefit to the original owner on death. As a way to avoid a change in ownership and taxation on claim benefits. I think the split to the original owner is the “consideration” paid. It is murky at best and I am sure the ATO would tend to agree.
This just makes anyone involved with this appear to be of low moral standing and a bit of a grease ball.
There is a reason why there is a “gap in the market – ethics. Quite a number of advisers supported the idea according to the poll on this website… I wonder if these are the same advisers complaining about the ethics exam?
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