Integrity Life seals group income protection agreement with Coverforce
10 October 2022
Integrity Life has signed an agreement with Coverforce to be the life insurance provider of its Group Income Protection products...
Life Insurance
Budget wish list: planners want compo scheme tweaks, levy freeze extension
10 October 2022
The Financial Planning Association has again pushed for changes to the proposed Compensation Scheme of Last Resort in its pre-Budget submission...
NZ conduct reviews lead to $132 million in customer remediation to date
10 October 2022
New Zealand life insurers and banks have paid about $NZ150 million in customer remediation, the result of Conduct and Culture reviews commenced by the Financial Markets Authority and Reserve Bank of New Zealand between 2018 and 2019...
FPA creates advice value index in push to highlight financial planning benefits
10 October 2022
The Financial Planning Association has launched an advice satisfaction index, stepping up its push to raise awareness of the “quality of life” for advised Australians...
Majority of NZ advice providers meet licence paperwork deadline
10 October 2022
About 86% of New Zealand financial advice providers have either started or completed applications for full licences that will allow them to continue operating when their transitional permit expires next year, the Financial Markets Authority says...
NZ advice body hosts World Financial Planning Day
10 October 2022
Financial Advice New Zealand has stepped up efforts to highlight the value of financial planning, publishing a series of informative guides for consumers to help them get started...
Advisers, planners support Quality of Advice Review paper proposals
03 October 2022
The Financial Planning Association and other peak bodies representing the advice profession have come out mostly in support of the Quality of Advice Review consultation paper...
Code compliance committee flags under-reporting concern
03 October 2022
Life Insurance Code of Practice subscribers may not be fully reporting significant breaches after the 2021/22 year registered 33% fewer non-compliance cases, the code compliance committee says...
No recovery likely in adviser numbers, new report says
03 October 2022
Adviser numbers declined by 38% in the last three years, from 26,500 in 2019 to 16,671 this year, according to a report from financial services industry researcher Rainmaker Information...
Financial planners concerned over Treasury proposal for 'experienced' advisers
03 October 2022
Financial planners say they do not support a Treasury proposal to introduce an “experienced” pathway for advisers, cautioning the recommendation may not achieve its intended aim of easing the cost of providing advice...
AIA to pay $616,000 penalty for false, misleading representations
03 October 2022
AIA will pay a pecuniary penalty of $NZ700,000 for false and/or misleading representations it made to affected customers in New Zealand, after the insurer filed a court notice last year admitting “all the facts and causes of action alleged” in proceedings taken by the Financial Markets Authority...
MLC gives advisers access to Vivo
03 October 2022
MLC Life has announced that its Vivo health and wellness service will be open to financial advisers to address increased reports of stress from industry professionals...
NAB finalises sale of NZ life business
03 October 2022
NAB-owned Bank of New Zealand has completed the sale of its life insurance business to Partners Life...
FPA Financial Planning Week starts
03 October 2022
The Financial Planning Association says it has commissioned research to highlight the difference in quality of life between advised and unadvised Australians...
Advice review among key discussion topics at AFA conference
26 September 2022
Association of Financial Advisers CEO Phil Anderson provided an update on the profession last week at the peak body’s national conference, touching on adviser numbers, education requirements as well as the Quality of Advice Review...
Industry working group to research 'true cost' of advice provision
26 September 2022
The Financial Planning Association and other members of the Joint Associations Working Group are starting research soon to determine the cost of providing advice as part of their submission to the Quality of Advice Review...
Complainant loses IP benefit reinstatement dispute
26 September 2022
A complainant who was receiving partial disability payments for depression caused by workplace bullying for more than a year until the insurer decided to stop them, citing medical information suggesting she can return to her pre-injury work capability, has lost her dispute to have the benefits reinstated...
Treasury super review progresses with technical working group
26 September 2022
A 12-member working group that includes independent economists and academics has been established to work alongside Treasury’s ongoing review of Your Future, Your Super reforms...
AIA among winners at annual NZ financial services industry gathering
26 September 2022
The Financial Services Council in New Zealand has named its award winners across seven categories in recognition of their contributions and achievements as individuals and teams...
Fraudulent misrepresentation of schizophrenia voids policy, AFCA rules
19 September 2022
A life insurer has prevailed in a dispute over its decision to avoid a policy and deny a claim on grounds the insured “fraudulently misrepresented” his history of schizophrenia when he applied for the cover...