{"id":81538,"date":"2026-04-07T11:06:29","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T01:06:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/?p=81538"},"modified":"2026-04-07T11:06:43","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T01:06:43","slug":"affordability-and-efficiency-dominate-panel-debate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/2026\/04\/07\/affordability-and-efficiency-dominate-panel-debate\/","title":{"rendered":"Affordability and Efficiency Dominate Panel Debate"},"content":{"rendered":"

A panel of risk specialists outlined the competing forces reshaping the country\u2019s life insurance advice sector at Riskinfocus 26<\/a> in Melbourne. They pointed to rising client affordability pressures, high delivery costs, and the adoption of artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n

Moderated by MetLife\u2019s Head of Advice Strategy, Jeffrey Scott<\/strong>, the discussion brought together Jamie McIntyre<\/strong>, Financial Planner and Founder of\u00a0Mac Financial<\/a>, Stefan D\u2019Alessandro<\/strong>, Founder of The Risk Lab<\/a>,\u00a0and Lautum Life<\/a>\u00a0Financial Adviser Nga Vu<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

…the panel was unified on what\u2019s driving client conversations<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Despite differing business structures, the panel was unified on what\u2019s driving client conversations \u2013 cost-of-living pressures.<\/p>\n

For Vu, affordability is front and centre, particularly among older clients facing premium increases.<\/p>\n

\"Nga
Nga Vu.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cA large portion of my client base are aged in their 60s and 70s,\u201d she said. \u201cHaving those retention conversations is becoming a significant part of my workload. Insurance is competing with a range of other rising costs in clients\u2019 lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

D\u2019Alessandro echoed the sentiment, noting cost-of-living pressures are now a feature of almost every client interaction.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are the conversations that are hardest, because they\u2019re often outside our control,\u201d he said. \u201cYou\u2019re trying to find solutions, but affordability is the limiting factor.\u201d<\/p>\n

McIntyre\u2019s concerns were more operational, focusing on compliance and process risk in an increasingly regulated environment.<\/p>\n

Cost of advice<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the central questions posed to the panel was whether the cost of delivering advice had changed over the past 12 months.<\/p>\n

Vu reported that costs in her business have increased, largely due to time spent on scoping and investing in technology to improve future efficiency.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m spending more time upfront, trying to build better processes and systems,\u201d she said. \u201cThe aim is to reduce costs over time, but we\u2019re not there yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

…I\u2019ve pivoted to a model that allows me to serve clients who might otherwise not engage…<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

By contrast, McIntyre said his firm had begun to see some cost efficiencies, driven by tighter internal processes, selective offshoring, and the use of technology.<\/p>\n

\"Jamie
Jamie McIntyre.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

His firm operates on a fee-for-service model, with client fees starting at $5,500 and averaging around $8,800 for couples, while internal delivery costs sit between $3,000 and $4,000.<\/p>\n

D\u2019Alessandro, operating a commission-based model, said his cost to deliver advice is under $1,000.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve pivoted to a model that allows me to serve clients who might otherwise not engage,\u201d he said. \u201cPart of that is recognising that clients are coming in more informed than they used to be.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe dynamic has changed,\u201d he said. \u201cClients are educating themselves and coming to us to validate their thinking, rather than starting from zero.\u201d<\/p>\n

All three panellists pointed to AI as a key enabler of efficiency, particularly in back-office functions, but cautioned the benefits are not automatic.<\/p>\n

For McIntyre, the journey began with experimentation using existing tools before moving to specialist platforms.<\/p>\n

\u201cMeeting transcription and file note generation have been the biggest wins so far,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s saving time and improving consistency.\u201d<\/p>\n

…AI isn\u2019t just about plugging in tools…<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Vu described transcription as a \u201cgame changer\u201d, significantly reducing the mental load associated with post-meeting admin. But admitted using the technology has involved a steep learning curve.<\/p>\n

\"Stefan
Stefan D’Alessandro<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

D\u2019Alessandro, who has a background in computer science, took a more strategic view: \u201cAI isn\u2019t just about plugging in tools,\u201d he said. \u201cYou need to rethink your processes to get the full benefit. Otherwise, you\u2019re just layering technology on top of inefficiency.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also noted that many gains attributed to AI, particularly in automation, were achievable with pre-existing technologies.<\/p>\n

Regulations<\/strong><\/p>\n

The panel and audience agreed that regulatory changes have yet to produce meaningful cost savings.<\/p>\n

While reforms were expected to reduce compliance burdens and improve efficiency, the consensus in the room was that these benefits have not materialised in practice.<\/p>\n

Instead, advisers continue to navigate complex requirements, with associated time and cost implications.<\/p>\n

The discussion also highlighted the ongoing tension between fee-for-service and commission-based models.<\/p>\n

While McIntyre advocated for advisers to value their services and charge accordingly, he acknowledged that transitioning to full fee-for-service is not straightforward.<\/p>\n

All three panellists agreed the current Life Insurance Framework commission settings (60% upfront, 20% ongoing) are insufficient, with broad support for a review.<\/p>\n

See our report: General Advice Gains Traction<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Metlife
The Riskinfocus 26 adviser panel debate the benefits and challenges of delivering advice amid technological advances and cost-of-delivery pressures..<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A panel of risk specialists outlined the competing forces reshaping the country\u2019s life insurance advice sector at Riskinfocus 26 in Melbourne. They pointed to rising client affordability pressures, high delivery costs, and the adoption of artificial intelligence. Moderated by MetLife\u2019s Head of Advice Strategy, Jeffrey Scott, the discussion brought together Jamie McIntyre, Financial Planner and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":81547,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[241,8293,4474,8295,5121],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-81538","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-conferences-and-events","8":"category-general-advice","9":"category-practice-management","10":"category-riskinfocus-26","11":"category-sustainability"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81538","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=81538"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81538\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/81547"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81538"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81538"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81538"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}