Consumers confident about buying life insurance without adviser

A white paper shows 72 per cent of respondents would be confident purchasing a life insurance or income protection product online, without financial advice, if the right resources were available.

Fifty-six per cent of respondents stated they were “unwilling to pay anything for life insurance advice”.

NobleOak chief executive Anthony Brown said consumer buying behaviour is quickly evolving.

“In reality, we find many customers still like to talk to someone about life insurance and help them to apply,” Mr Brown said.

“While it may still be a while before this personal contact is replaced, there is no doubt we are in the middle of a significant shift in consumer behaviour.”

The whitepaper, Life Insurance in Australia – Consumer Behaviour Transformation, was based on a study conducted in December last year by research firm Pureprofile.

More than 1,000 Australians aged between 30 and 60 were asked about their research and buying behaviour with regards to financial services products.

In October last year, sister publication ifa reported on comments from Mr Brown, who said customers with life insurance policies attained through advisers were “not getting good value for money” when compared to direct policies.

“We do think the industry is broken at the moment. It does need fixing and I know there are big changes but if you go through advisers, you’re not getting good value for money,” Mr Brown said.

“A lot of direct opportunities are great value for money and lapse rates are high.”

Adrian Flores

Adrian Flores is a deputy editor at Momentum Media, focusing mainly on banking, wealth management and financial services. He has also written for Public Accountant, Accountants Daily and The CEO Magazine.

You can contact him on adrian.flores@momentummedia.com.au.