Aussies choose web over advisers for insurance needs

In its research white paper titled Life insurance: The online shift in consumer behaviour, NobleOak found 26.8 per cent of Australians look to the internet as their main source of information for risk insurance, while 18.6 per cent followed advice from family members.

This was compared to 20.5 per cent who sought the assistance of a professional adviser.

In addition to these findings, NobleOak found that most people – 71 per cent – are not willing to pay anything for life insurance advice.

This was compared to 18 per cent who said they would pay between $0-$100 and one per cent who said they would pay more than $1,000.

“The news for financial advisers continues to prove challenging, with 42.4 per cent of respondents saying financial advisers did not provide value for money and 36.2 per cent saying they were not sure if value for money was provided,” NobleOak’s white paper said.

“[This was along with] 73.4 per cent of respondents [who] did not know what financial advisers were paid for selling life insurance.

“Unfortunately, many people who need financial advice may therefore not be seeing the value, and not accessing this advice. This could further fuel underinsurance,” it said.

“This finding also supports the general belief that only those financial advisers with compelling value propositions will continue to thrive, while those not providing clear value will be challenged,” the white paper added.

The research was conducted on behalf of NobleOak by Pureprofile, with more than 1,000 people participating across Australia.