- No-one (40%)
- Anyone whose life policy with the insurer is not allocated to an adviser (an orphan policy holder) (38%)
- Anyone who holds a life insurance policy with the insurer (10%)
- Anyone who contacts the insurer (8%)
- Not sure (5%)
Qualified scope exists within the adviser community on the question of whether life companies should have the ability to deliver simple advice to consumers.
This is the view of advisers in on our latest poll based on the Government’s recent Quality of Advice Review industry consultation release that life insurers will in future have the capacity to deliver limited financial advice (see: Life Companies to Deliver Financial Advice).
As we go to print, the most popular option in a balanced poll result says 43% of respondents think no-one should have access to limited, simple advice from life company staff.
This outcome is balanced by 37% who think insurers should be able to advise orphan policy holders, 9% who believe anyone who contacts insurers should be able to access advice and another 7% who think anyone who has a life policy should be able to get advice from their insurer.
…there clearly exists sufficient goodwill among advisers to see where this initiative may lead
While not exactly an overwhelming endorsement, there clearly exists sufficient goodwill among advisers to see where this initiative may lead.
On the cautious side, however, one adviser has asked whether – depending on the circumstances – premiums may differ if the consumer deals direct with the insurer, while another asks whether the regulator/government has such a short memory to ignore the fact that one of the main reasons the Banking Royal Commission was instituted was due to behaviours associated with vertical integration.
Whatever your view, it would appear that a significant new stream of life insurance advice – albeit limited in its scope – will be launched into the market at some point in 2024 or very soon thereafter.
Our poll remains open for another week and we welcome your thoughts…
