Working group urges industry to lift productivity
02 February 2015
The Life Insurance and Advice Working Group headed by John Trowbridge has called for a number of changes to the way the industry works, to improve productivity…
Life Insurance
ASIC cracks down on Guardian Advice
02 February 2015
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has imposed conditions on Suncorp-owned Guardian Advice’s financial services licence…
Advisers win battle to restore grandfathering
15 December 2014
The Federal Government has reintroduced grandfathering regulations into the Senate, effective from tomorrow…
Individual life cover lapse rates stabilise
15 December 2014
Individual life insurance lapse rates have stabilised over the past three years, according to research house Dexx&r…
AMP tops life insurance policy liability figures
15 December 2014
AMP had gross policy liabilities of $76.6 billion at June 30, according to data from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority…
BT sheds light on consumer age profiles
15 December 2014
Consumers appear to develop an interest in financial advice in their mid-40s, according to BT Financial Group…
Technology holds key to client servicing, advisers told
15 December 2014
Platform technology is essential if advisers want to service more clients, according to HUB24 MD Andrew Alcock…
ASIC bans ex-PIS adviser
15 December 2014
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has banned a former Professional Investment Services adviser for a year…
FSI calls for lower upfront life commissions
08 December 2014
The Financial System Inquiry has recommended life insurance upfront commissions be reduced to the same level as trails, to stop churning and improve the quality of advice…
Cutting upfront commissions not the solution: AFA
08 December 2014
Level life insurance commissions will prove another distraction for advisers, Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) COO Phil Anderson says…
Human rights hearing rules against AMP
08 December 2014
The Australian Human Rights Commission has rejected an argument that authorised representatives are independent contractors…
ASIC Chairman blames advisers for industry woes
08 December 2014
Australian Securities and Investments Commission Chairman Greg Medcraft has called on financial advisers to raise their game…
Strong inflows for group life business
08 December 2014
Group life insurance premium inflows grew 24% to $5.3 billion in the year to September 30, according to the latest figures from Plan For Life…
ASIC defends light touch on FOFA laws
01 December 2014
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission says it will maintain a “facilitative” approach to implementing the Future of Financial Advice legislation, despite Labor calls for a tougher stance…
Draft legislation sets out adviser register requirements
01 December 2014
Treasury has published draft requirements for the new financial adviser register, to be administered by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission…
FOFA changes await date
01 December 2014
A date has yet to be set for proposed changes to the Future of Financial Advice legislation to be lodged in Parliament…
Advice industry welcomes grandfathering reprieve
01 December 2014
Older advisers who want to sell their life books can once again do so under a welcome move to reinstate grandfathering rules, Synchron Director Don Trapnell says…
Suncorp appoints transformation chief
01 December 2014
Suncorp Life has recruited former CommInsure head of strategic services David Pik to be its Head of Strategy…
Mental health issues hit one in five staff
01 December 2014
About 20% of the workforce has some form of mental health problem, a leading psychologist says…
Crossbenchers’ U-turn scuppers FOFA changes
24 November 2014
Regulations to change the Future of Financial Advice legislation have been rejected by the Senate, with Labor winning support from former Palmer United’s Jacqui Lambie…