OnePath and non-aligned firm win $60m insurance deal

Advice firm CSP tendered the key person business to six of Australia's top insurers and reinsurers, with ANZ OnePath ultimately issuing the policy.

"We were able to complete everything required – financials and medicals – within the three-week timeframe, finalising a policy on a Friday and issuing it on the following Monday," CSP chief executive Lachlan St Clair said.

"The quick turnaround proves that when all parties – the management team, the financial planning team and the insurer – are committed to the same outcome, underwriting can take a matter of weeks, not months."

Mr St Clair, a former underwriter and a financial adviser with 20 years' industry experience, said the policy bucks what appears to be a worrying trend in the big end of town to ignore key person risk.

"We believe there are many big players in Australia neglecting their fiduciary duty to protect investors and putting both shareholders and their own corporations at risk, because they have not put key person insurance in place," Mr St Clair said.

While the company was not named, Mr St Clair said that large businesses had a responsibility to shareholders since the share prices could be affected if they lose a key player due to death or disability.

Although key person insurance has gained some traction in the Australian SME market, Mr St Clair said the risk for larger businesseses is potentially much greater since their balance sheets are much larger.

"I'm not too sure why the big end of town does not seem to have addressed key person risk although it could have something to do with a perception that these types of policies require a lot of underwriting and are very time-consuming," he said.

Mr St Clair added, however, that if a corporation's management team is completely cognisant of its key person risk and fully committed to putting the insurance in place, policies can be written quite quickly.