MLC celebrates Plan for Life Excellence award wins
11 December 2023
MLC Life celebrated several wins at this year’s Plan for Life Excellence awards for its Vivo health and wellness program, debt insurance product, and AI mental health support app...
Life Insurance
Insurer wins dispute over mental health misrepresentation
04 December 2023
A complainant who was on anti-depressant medication but failed to provide the information when asked about her history of mental health in her life insurance application form has lost her dispute with the insurer...
Advice firm fined $100,000 for false details
04 December 2023
Fong Financial Planners has been convicted and fined $100,000 in the District Court of Western Australia on three counts of dishonest conduct that put their clients’ life insurance coverage at risk...
NZ life advisory firm’s licence cancelled
04 December 2023
New Zealand regulator The Financial Markets Authority has cancelled the licence of Foundation Advice after the business went into liquidation in October at the order of the High Court...
Fees for no service: OnePath Custodians penalised $5 million
04 December 2023
Superannuation trustee OnePath Custodians has been penalised $5 million for making false or misleading representations to members about its right to continue charging them fees, in civil penalty proceedings launched in 2021 by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission...
TAL’s Brett Clark to chair education not-for-profit
04 December 2023
Education not-for-profit Australian Business Community Network has appointed TAL Group CEO and MD Brett Clark as Chair, replacing Hall & Wilcox Managing Partner Tony Macvean...
Treasury consults on use of genetic testing results in life underwriting
27 November 2023
Treasury has released a consultation paper on the life industry’s stance on genetic testing, in response to growing concerns the present setup discourages Australians from undertaking potentially life-saving tests to avoid hurting their chances of securing affordable insurance...
Jones says Government wants ‘meaningful’ advice reforms
27 November 2023
The Federal Government is committed to reforms that will lead to “meaningful” changes for the advice industry and consumers, Financial Services Minister Stephen Jones said...
ASIC accepts enforceable undertaking from unlicensed iExtend
27 November 2023
iExtend Holdings and its subsidiary iExi have entered into a court enforceable undertaking with the corporate regulator after the businesses were found to have provided life insurance services without an Australian financial services licence...
WT acquires Millennium3
27 November 2023
WT Financial Group is acquiring Millennium3 Financial Services, a financial advice network with more than 140 wealth and personal risk insurance advisers operating in more than 75 privately-owned practices across the country...
Mercer penalised $12 million for breaches
27 November 2023
The Federal Court has fined Mercer Financial Advice $12 million for wrongfully charging clients fees for services they did not receive and other breaches, including failure to provide fee disclosure statements...
Projected rise in adviser numbers not enough to avert looming shortfall
27 November 2023
Australia still faces a shortage of financial advisers even as recent declines in numbers appear to have plateaued, Rainmaker Information says in a new report...
AMP announces $100 million class action settlement
27 November 2023
AMP will settle a class action lodged by its financial advisers for $100 million after the Federal Court ruled against the business in July, and the two sides agreed to engage in mediation...
MLC Life announces additions to distribution team
27 November 2023
MLC Life has announced three new business development manager appointments to its Northern Region Retail Distributions team...
FAAA names excellence awards winners
27 November 2023
The Financial Advice Association Australia has named the winners of its inaugural excellence awards, launched after the peak body was created this year from the merger of the Association of Financial Advisers and Financial Planning Association...
Adviser reaction mixed as Treasury consults on QAR reforms
20 November 2023
Reactions from advisers have been mixed after Treasury launched draft legislation to implement the first phase of its response to the Quality of Advice Review final report’s recommendations...
Still room for improvement after life complaints drop: AFCA
20 November 2023
The Australian Financial Complaints Authority is encouraged by the decline in life insurance disputes, which fell 24% to 1898 in the last financial year and accounted for 2% of overall cases lodged with the ombudsman...
Asteron Life appoints adviser distribution national manager
20 November 2023
Asteron Life has appointed Kirsten Young as National Manager Adviser Distribution, following a review of the Suncorp-owned New Zealand life insurer’s management structure...
TAL pays record claims
20 November 2023
Life insurer TAL says it paid $2 billion in claims during the six months to September, a record for a half-year period in its history...
FAAA launches one-stop career portal
20 November 2023
The Financial Advice Association Australia has launched a one-stop career planning portal for the profession...