Asteron combines stepped and level premiums

Speaking at an adviser roadshow in Sydney, Asteron executive manager of life risk products Brad Partridge conceded that life insurers “do not make it easy” for advisers to offer their clients insurance products with a mix of stepped and level premiums.

To assist advisers in meeting their clients' long- and short-term insurance needs, the life insurer is therefore introducing “mixed premiums” for its products, Mr Partridge explained.

“Mixed premiums now allow you to nominate a split of level and stepped premiums at benefit level. It also allows you to select it at policy level if you wish,” Mr Partridge said.

“What this enables you to do is to actually select, for example, a 100 per cent level premium for your life cover and then maybe a mix of 30 per cent, 70 per cent for your linked TPD benefit and vice versa all the way through the different product options you may recommend.”

Mr Partridge further explained that this mixed premium structure will not only allow advisers to embed the benefits of the premium in the long-term but also to talk about a client’s future insurance needs.

“[That could be in] five years’ time, 10 years’ time and 20 years’ time,” he said.

“It also allows you to change the insurance at a later date without the level premiums that you have already recommended.”