{"id":81090,"date":"2026-02-16T09:01:02","date_gmt":"2026-02-15T22:01:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/?p=81090"},"modified":"2026-02-20T10:52:03","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T23:52:03","slug":"advice-gap-impacting-sustainability","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/2026\/02\/16\/advice-gap-impacting-sustainability\/","title":{"rendered":"Advice Gap Impacting Sustainability"},"content":{"rendered":"

Access to financial advice, and the number of advisers able to provide it, must be addressed if Australia\u2019s life insurance industry is to remain sustainable, participants heard at the Zurich Sustainability Round Table.<\/p>\n

Lifespan CEO Eugene Ardino<\/strong> argued that reduced new business volumes are a central structural issue, adding that the fall in new life insurance sales coincided with the introduction of the Life Insurance Framework \u2013 which he claims has had a detrimental effect on insurance pools.<\/p>\n

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Lifespan CEO, Eugene Ardino at the Zurich Sustainability Round Table …product reform will get there with market forces, but of more critical importance is lack of advisers and lack of new business.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWhat I\u2019m seeing at a licensee level is those who are actually buying insurance, they\u2019re older, their premiums are higher,\u201d he said. \u201cThose that are no longer getting insurance through advisers are younger people\u2026because it’s not commercial for an adviser to help them.\u201d<\/p>\n

The result …is a pool skewed towards older people with a higher likelihood of claim<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The result, said Ardino, is a pool skewed towards older people with a higher likelihood of claim.<\/p>\n

He also expressed concern about regulatory intervention that removes product options, citing the withdrawal of agreed-value income protection policies at the behest of the regulator (see: APRA Sets New Course for IP Sustainability<\/a>).<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really disappointing when a regulator has to step in and basically take a product option away from consumers,\u201d he said. \u201cSuch steps should be a last resort.\u201d<\/p>\n

CALI’a GM Corporate Affairs, Keely O\u2019Brien, supported Ardino\u2019s position noting that, while access to advice is critical for Australian\u2019s to get the life insurance protection they need, \u201c\u2026the settings aren\u2019t right\u201d.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Brien said CALI is advocating for advice reform to make it easier for advisers to provide advice, while also introducing a new class of advisers. She said insurers should be able to play a role in providing advice on their own products and services.<\/p>\n

Ardino\u2019s observations followed remarks from Sydney-based adviser, Kristen Agius <\/strong>(Perera Crowther<\/a>), who supported the potential for TPD benefit payments to be staged instead of paid as an upfront lump sum, provided policy pricing appropriately reflects any reduced benefit. This comment was made within the context of finding answers to address the explosion of mental health-related TPD claims being experienced by all insurers.<\/p>\n

…gaining adviser traction remains difficult when more comprehensive traditional TPD definitions are still available<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Zurich’s Head of Retail, Tim Kane<\/strong>, told the panel insurers have begun responding through new product development, with two new TPD offerings launched into the market in the past 12 months. However, he acknowledged that gaining adviser traction remains difficult when more comprehensive traditional TPD definitions are still available.<\/p>\n