While the progress of the Future of Financial Advice\u00a0reform proposals has dominated industry debate this year, we have taken time to consider the top three initiatives reported by riskinfo\u00a0in 2011.<\/p>\n
Each of these initiatives has contributed to enhancing the life insurance and broader financial services industry for advisers and consumers, with\u00a0two of this year’s three top initiatives having been developed by individual advisers seeking new and better ways to make a difference.<\/p>\n
Our top three initiatives for 2011\u00a0are:<\/p>\n
The Inaugural AFA Female Excellence in Advice Award<\/strong><\/p>\n The introduction of the AFA Female Excellence in Advice Award has been welcomed across the financial services industry.<\/p>\n The Award is intended to highlight the importance of the role of women in financial advice, and also the importance of being able to deliver financial advice to\u00a0more female consumers.<\/p>\n The AFA was swamped by nominations\u00a0for this Award, which generated significant interest, as evidenced by the record number of nominations the AFA received, compared with other key industry awards.<\/p>\n Sponsored by TAL,\u00a0the Award has been directly responsible for a\u00a0spike in\u00a0new female membership applications to the AFA, and\u00a0it appears it\u00a0will also be responsible for a surge in new female entrants into the financial advice sector.<\/p>\n Critics have\u00a0pointed out\u00a0the Award can be seen as tokenistic to females.\u00a0 But it has successfully highlighted\u00a0the importance of the need for more female financial advisers in an industry historically dominated by males, and has also become a focal point in\u00a0encouraging more\u00a0leadership from females within the sector.<\/p>\n We congratulate Olivia Maragna<\/a> as the inaugural winner of the 2011 AFA Female Excellence in Advice Award.<\/p>\n Launch of iRisk Advisor<\/strong><\/p>\n iRisk Advisor<\/a> is a software package developed as an interactive tool for advisers to use with their clients.\u00a0 It allows discovery, quoting and client engagement opportunities and leads to broader discussion of client needs and wants.<\/p>\n Designed for use on iPad tablet technology, iRisk Advisor is an excellent relationship development opportunity for advisers.\u00a0 It gathers client information and\u00a0presents it in a way that allows the client to arrive at their own conclusion (where appropriate) about what\u00a0lump sum and\/or income protection insurance solutions are needed, and what levels of cover are required.<\/p>\n Developed by Sydney adviser David Clark,<\/strong> in association with Blueleaf Consulting Principal, Gary O’Sullivan<\/strong>, iRisk Advisor\u00a0takes the client on an interactive\u00a0journey that is fresh and new.\u00a0 It allows a new physical dimension within client interviews because of the compact nature of the iPad hardware compared with traditional lap top or desk top computers.<\/p>\n At present, client quotes are populated by Zurich risk products, but there are plans to extend this service to include other product providers.\u00a0 The graphics are clear and easily understood and contribute to a very user-friendly message to the client.<\/p>\n In the words of advisers who have already started using this package, iRisk Advisor is ‘… a terrific engagement tool…’ that is ‘… very smart and simple without over complicating things.’ (See: New Adviser\/Client Interactive Tool<\/a>)<\/p>\n Australian Risk Advisers Discussion Group<\/strong><\/p>\n Australian Risk Advisers<\/a> is an online discussion group that\u00a0focusses on adviser-related issues within the life insurance industry.<\/p>\n Created by passionate risk specialist adviser, Aaron Zelman<\/strong>, this simple idea has tapped into a need for risk advisers to generate their own\u00a0topics and discuss these issues with fellow advisers around the country.<\/p>\n Without actively promoting this forum, which is accessed via\u00a0the\u00a0LinkedIn business network, Australian Risk Advisers has developed a following of almost 300 advisers\u00a0since its launch in March this year, with this number continuing to grow.<\/p>\n Advisers are able to safely share their views and obtain feedback about a wide variety of\u00a0 issues that impact their advice practice.\u00a0 Recent discussion topics have included:<\/p>\n See: Launch of New Life Industry Discussion Forums<\/a> and visit Australian Risk Advisers<\/a>.<\/p>\n Other Acknowledgements<\/strong><\/p>\n In addition to these three top\u00a0initiatives, riskinfo also congratulates Fiona Navarro<\/strong> and the team at\u00a0the MLC Risk Specialist Network<\/a>, and Sue Laing<\/strong> and Peter Wincott<\/strong> from the risk store<\/a>, for\u00a0conducting outstanding risk-focused conferences for advisers during 2011.<\/p>\n\n