Industry arguments against passing the second insurance in super bill are weak and mostly coming from vested interests, according to Superannuation and Financial Services Minister Jane Hume.

In an at-times censorious speech to the Financial Services Council (FSC) Summit, Ms Hume said the only reason some industry players are now acknowledging the problems with insurance in super are because the Government will probably have the numbers in Parliament to pass the reform.

The bill will make life cover opt-in for fund members under 25 and those with low-balance accounts. The previous Protecting Your Super bill removed life insurance from inactive accounts.

Ms Hume says weak arguments for automatic insurance cover are “mainly coming from those with vested interests”.

“If there's one thing that adds fuel to the perception that the superannuation sector, for all its talk about putting members first, is in reality beset with complacency and inertia, it's this: Why isn't the industry taking action itself on long-standing problems we all know are there, instead of waiting to be dragged kicking and screaming by government towards a solution?

“Treasury analysis tells us that 96% of people aged between 18 and 25 do not have a dependent. We know that young people cross-subsidise others with larger accounts – Rice Warner estimates that the premiums paid by women under-25 are more than 330% of the true cost of insuring them.”

Ms Hume says stopping the drain of insurance fees can be the difference between hitting 25 with some savings for retirement or starting with nothing.

“If we are requiring people to defer almost $1 in $10 – and soon to be more – of their wages for retirement, then the system must do better. It has to earn that trust. It has to earn that right.”

Australian Super has already made insurance opt-in for under 25s.

Senior people in financial services were also honoured at the FSC Summit for their industry leadership, including: MetLife Head of Public Affairs Cathy Duloy; Johnson Winter & Slattery partner Austin Bell: Herbert Smith Freehills partner Fiona Smedley; Ernst & Young partner Michelle Segaert; FSC Senior Policy Manager, Investments, Global Markets and Strategy Jesse Krncevic; King & Wood Mallesons Special Counsel Glenda Hanson; Vanguard Head of Corporate Affairs Robin Bowerman; and Westpac Head of Government & Industry Affairs and Wealth Lucas McKay.