Advisers near unanimous on group remuneration disclosure

According to a Life Insurance Customer Group (LICG) survey, submitted this week as part of a document tabled to the Parliamentary Joint Committee inquiry into the life insurance industry, 96.8 per cent of advisers surveyed said trustees should disclose their level of remuneration.

The LICG said such disclosure is “to ensure customers are fully informed about the factors that could influence their decision about the appropriateness of the insurance that the trustee is offering”.

It said this disclosure should apply to the quote/application form as well as in the Financial Services Guide of the super fund.

The survey, Insights into group insurance offered by super funds, also showed 94 per cent of advisers believe there should be a minimum standard of definitions and exclusions in group policies offered by trustees.

This is to ensure customers are not left exposed, the LICG said.

In addition, 97.1 per cent of advisers said super fund trustees should have standard ways of collecting evidence for claims.

Also, 89.7 per cent of advisers think super funds should have a mandatory requirement to provide projections and alert customers when their insurance premiums exceed the income earned by the fund or reduce the annual super balance of the client’s account.

The survey was based on 281 responses collected from advisers between 10 and 22 February this year.

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].