MetLife urges advisers to use its wellbeing program
06 March 2023
MetLife Australia has urged advisers to use its 360Health program to support their personal wellbeing and also that of their clients...
Life Insurance
Rating agency raises individual DII profitability alarm
27 February 2023
S&P Global Ratings says individual disability income insurance profitability could “deteriorate”, following similar warnings from the prudential regulator...
Life insurers welcome paper on legislating objective of super
27 February 2023
The Federal Government’s launch of a consultation paper over a proposal to legislate an “agreed objective” of superannuation has the backing of life insurers...
Insurer discharged from liability after murder/suicide
27 February 2023
A life insurer seeking discharge from liability under a policy upon payment of “certain monies” in relation to a claim made by the estranged wife of a co-insured, who took his own life after murdering his de facto partner in 2016, has been granted approval by the Federal Court to do so...
JobKeeper payments are 'genuine' business income, AFCA says
27 February 2023
The Australian Financial Complaints Authority has defined how JobKeeper payments should be treated in relation to calculation of policy benefits after a complainant insisted the money from the Federal Government to support covid-affected businesses is an expense, not income...
ClearView Wealth half-year earnings surge on 46% rise in life profit
27 February 2023
ClearView Wealth says its life business performed strongly, enabling the listed financial services group to achieve a 31% rise in first-half underlying net profit after tax to $16.3 million...
Zurich expands group insurance partnership with Queensland super fund
20 February 2023
Zurich Financial Services will provide group insurance to members of Brighter Super, a Queensland-based superannuation fund, from July 1 after the two parties entered into a partnership agreement...
'Free funeral insurance for a year': pensioner gets refund after cold-call con
20 February 2023
A pensioner will be repaid premiums for funeral cover that he was talked into buying over the telephone by a company acting on behalf of Nobleoak Life...
Challenger achieves 'record' life sales
20 February 2023
Challenger’s key life business – its biggest division by earnings – posted “record” sales of $5.5 billion in the December half, up 11% from a year earlier...
NZ regulator agrees to 'fewer questions' for adviser regulatory form
20 February 2023
The Financial Markets Authority as confirmed the information that all classes of licensed advisers must provide in their regulatory returns following a consultation...
Perth financial planner wins Gwen Fletcher award
20 February 2023
The Financial Planning Association has announced Jessica Dean of Perth-based Globe Financial Planning as recipient of the Gwen Fletcher Memorial Award for the 2022 summer semester...
'Good versus best': Quality of Advice final report pushes for new advice definition
13 February 2023
Proposed changes to the definition of advice and the existing regulatory framework, including measures to streamline client paperwork, are the key thrusts of the Quality of Advice Review final report...
MetLife makes changes to life products
13 February 2023
MetLife has introduced changes that it says would make it “easier and faster” for customers in Australia to purchase life insurance...
Insurer ordered to pay 'further interest' after delaying TPD compensation
13 February 2023
A complainant whose total and permanent disability benefit payments were held up has partially won a dispute after the Australian Financial Complaints Authority ruled the insurer must pay “further interest” on top of what it has already agreed to pay to compensate for the delay...
Kaplan plans to expand short courses as adviser demand rises
13 February 2023
Kaplan Professional is planning to increase its range of short courses in response to growing demand from advisers...
Advisers, planners announce dates for combined roadshow
13 February 2023
The Association of Advisers and Financial Planning Association will hold a combined roadshow across 10 locations in May and early June...
AM Best says TAL Japanese parent has 'strong' balance sheet
13 February 2023
AM Best has affirmed its financial strength rating of A+ and long-term issuer credit rating of aa- for The Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Dai-ichi Life Holdings which owns TAL...
Letter calls for 'holistic' response to Levy advice review
06 February 2023
The Federal Government has a rare opportunity to deliver significant reforms and should take a holistic approach in responding to a suite of recommendations in the Quality of Advice review, industry groups say in a joint letter to Financial Services Minister Stephen Jones...
APRA puts individual DII providers on notice
06 February 2023
The prudential regulator has listed individual disability income insurance as among its supervision priorities, after expressing concerns at the end of last year over the product line’s financial state...
AFCA income protection ruling sets out occupation parameters
06 February 2023
A complainant whose income protection benefits were terminated on grounds he was a director of a company while still receiving the insurance payments has won his dispute...