Risk advice has ‘optimistic’ future: MLC Life

Speaking as part of a panel at last week’s ifa Business Strategy Day in Sydney, MLC Life sales effectiveness and coaching manager Melissa Crawford said she was optimistic about risk advice’s future in the face of numerous regulatory changes.

Ms Crawford said the life insurance industry has so far been slow to adopt new technologies or innovate the way the industry operates, but that plenty of potential remains for the industry to do so.

“Life insurance, if we’re to use the term sexy, is not particularly sexy, and there’s not really a lot that we’ve done broadly speaking in the industry in Australia in particular other than get you to use your smart phone as an actual phone,” she said.

“So there is actually a fantastic opportunity to bring in technology, and a lot of the processing and thinking that you’re going through in your practices to actually apply that into our company as well, so looking at the personalisation approach to insurance and flexing and tailoring the questions.”

When asked about the future of the industry and the challenges posed by regulatory changes such as the LIF reforms and the incoming FASEA education standards, Ms Crawford said she was optimistic.

“I don’t think the life insurance adviser, or the risk specialist, is going to be dead,” she said.

“I think the business they’re going to operate in, or the model they operate under is going to change substantially, whether they continue down the path of working independently, or whether they bring in other specialists that complement what they do, or whether they move into a business where they complement the services that are already provided.”

Ms Crawford added that risk advisers and insurance companies can leverage technology to develop a better understanding of their clients, which will also support the industry through regulatory change.

“If the insurance industry can meet you at the level that you’re all at should meant [sic] that we have new products and a new approach and will continue to see longevity in this space,” she said.