Life insurance an opportunity for planners
The TAL Australian Financial Protection Index questioned more than 1200 Australians on how they view their life insurance, with a score from 0 to 100 – where 100 indicates they have adequate coverage in life, illness, disability and income protection insurance. The figures from the report were released yesterday.

Trinity dux became world expert on life insurance
Lawrence Cohn played a leading role in the insurance industry in Australia and internationally with the council of the Australian Insurance Institute, and as chairman of the executive committee of the Life Offices’ Association of Australia. From 1970 to 1985 he represented the Australian actuarial profession on the council of the International Actuarial Association and in 1982 he was elected vice-president of the Faculty of Actuaries in Scotland, the only Australian to hold that office.

Dig for detail to stay safe
Income protection insurance covers you for injury and illness, but what about job loss?

Superannuation rules have changed again
THE superannuation rules have been changed yet again – this time to require trustees of self managed super funds to consider insurance for their members as part of the fund’s investment strategy.

TAL’s Affinia hires for growth plans
Life insurance group TAL’s new risk business Affinia has hired three regional managers to spearhead growth plans, it said yesterday.

The risks of buying finance products online
ONLINE shopping is booming but what are the risks of buying financial products online? When buying financial products online, the biggest risk is that we don’t always know what we need and nor do we always recognise that lack of knowledge. Take life insurance as an example.
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Asteron rejects APES 230 standards
Life insurer believes new standards unfair to advisers linked to accounting firms. Insurance provider Asteron Life believes proposed new professional standards will negatively affect advisers linked to accounting firms.

Doors set to close on self-insurance
As do-it-yourself super strategies go, self- insurance is a topic that attracts more talk than action. While it is possible for a DIY fund to finance life and disability insurance for its members by setting fund earnings aside in a special reserve account, in reality, the challenges involved invariably prove to be too complicated for those who consider it.

New regs could devastate adviser incomes
The APES 230 standard for provision of financial planning services by accountants could have serious implications for adviser incomes. According to Asteron Life, the new regulations will negatively impact financial advisers who have links to accounting firms by increasing advice fees and reducing the affordability of advice.
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Outdated SMSF guidelines need a revamp
Chan & Naylor director Ken Raiss pinpoints the restriction for SMSFs to have a maximum of four members, restriction to move life insurance to an SMSF, cancellation of an over 65 trustee entitlement to three-year average contribution plus over-contribution penalties as the key pressing guidelines to be revisited in the New Year.

TAL appoints new general manager
TAL has appointed Brad Clarke as its new general manager of corporate strategy and M&A. In the newly created role, Clarke will be working alongside the life insurance giant’s managing director Jim Minto.

Is it time for insurers to go back to basics?
When it comes to affordability of life insurance, it needn’t be all or nothing. There are a number of strategies that can be employed to help make insurance an option for more clients, and as CommInsure’s Tim Browne writes, perhaps it’s time to get back to basics with product design.
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Aussies paying double for insurance, says super funds report
AUSTRALIANS are paying almost double for insurance taken out through retail sector superannuation funds, according to a new report.

Financial advisor sentenced for $400,000 theft
A former financial advisor has been sentenced to 41 months after stealing nearly $400,000 in commissions from fake insurance applications. Susan Heathwood of Randwick, New South Wales, received a suspended sentence and entered two-year good behaviour bond of $1000, in the Downing Centre District Court.

Wholesale insurance prices set to “firm”: Rice Warner
Australians taking out insurance within their superannuation are set to see “more rational pricing” in the wholesale insurance market, says Rice Warner’s Richard Weatherhead. Weatherhead, who is head of life insurance at Rice Warner, pointed to a Rice Warner report that predicts a firming of premium prices in the wholesale market as insurers respond to more volatile and often higher claims rates.
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AIA Australia improves adviser quoting and app tool
AIA Australia has revamped its online quoting and application tool eApp Express for advisers in direct response to adviser feedback. It’s understood that eApp Express – which lets advisers electronically lodge life insurance quotes and applications – has been designed to cater for the growing numbers who working via new platforms and browsers including tablets, laptops, notebooks and ultrabooks.

Adviser: Why I left AMP
This financial advice practice owner reveals why he decided to leave the comfort of a major institution and go it alone.
Speaking at the AFA National Conference, Phil Campbell from Edplan – which services the teacher market – explained that he started as a life insurance agent back in 1983, and managed to build the practice up to a value of $2m by the year 2000.

Choosing the right insurance
HAVING life insurance is an important financial safeguard for our family and loved ones if the unexpected occurs. While discussing life insurance can be a sensitive topic, without some planning for the unexpected it could be incredibly difficult for many families to maintain their current standard of living.
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Lion’s share of life insurance sold through superannuation
New research undertaken by CommInsure has reinforced the long-term implications of the Government’s remuneration restrictions around the sale of life/risk insurance within superannuation. The research, which identified that Australians held a false sense of security with respect to superannuation, also revealed that while superannuation represented the primary vehicle via which people accessed life insurance, advisers still played a key role.

Ageing Aussies ‘are throwing money away on life insurance’
Ageing Aussies are essentially throwing money away by paying towards costly life insurance cover, it has been claimed. Experts have suggested that people who take out a policy at the age of 30 or 40 end up paying huge sums once they near retirement age, National Features reports.

Allianz wins top insurance award
Allianz has won the award for Life Insurance Product of the Year at the 2012 Australian Banking and Finance (AB+F) Awards. The awards, held on Thursday at The IVY in Sydney, are Australia’s premier insurance accolades with the winners chosen by an independent panel of senior industry professionals.
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Accountants question membership over blanket ban
The blanket ban on commissions in insurance will cause members of the major Australian professional accounting bodies to reconsider their membership if it begins to outweigh client benefits, an industry executive said.

Bravura rated a top 100 technology vendor
Australian-based financial services software provider Bravura has this week been named as one of only two Australian companies among the world’s top 100 technology vendors by a key US publication. Bravura launched its next-generation wealth management platform, Sonata, at the end of 2010 to provide a single administration solution for life insurance, trust, pension/annuity, group superannuation/pension and UK wrap.

Software set to provide the missing link for financial planners
With major legislative change set to occur, it is up to software providers to make life easier for financial planners. Andrew Tsanadis discovers that the role technology and new media are playing in the financial planning industry today is unprecedented.
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