We made changes well before LIF, adviser says

Stream Financial principal adviser Tim Van Doore told Risk Adviser that his business has always been based on insurance advice and its associated revenue, and it was “relatively sheltered” from the broader FOFA reforms.

Despite his desire to stay as a dedicated insurance advice business, the firm would not be able to extend the same level of service, including claims management, within the new regulatory environment without incorporating fees.

“It would have been irresponsible for us to ignore the potential for further changes with insurance revenue and we started making changes to our business well before the recent Life Insurance Framework reforms,” Mr Van Doore said.

“As a result, it has been important to redefine our service offering and what our value proposition is for our clients. This has led to the introduction of holistic financial planning and mortgage broking to our client base.

“We want our fees to be a value-add rather than a requirement, hence the need to add services.”

The latest straw poll from sister publication ifa shows that 50.3 per cent of the 453 advisers surveyed said they had to increase their fees due to new regulation. 

Just under half (49.7 per cent) said they have not increased their fees due to recent changes in regulation.

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 [email protected].