TAL and Zurich have again been named outstanding-value life insurers in Canstar’s annual review of the industry.

The pair were named five-star winners in last year’s awards.

Canstar Wealth Manager Paul O’Connor says the quality of five-star insurance products continues to increase, with the awards now in their eighth year.

“Both TAL and Zurich manage to strike a terrific balance between competitive price and superior features,” he said.

TAL was a category winner in term life, trauma and income protection.

Zurich won in categories including total and permanent disability (TPD), packaged life products and income protection.

The other insurer awarded five stars in term life was AMP, while OnePath earned a top rating for its trauma cover and packaged life products.

ClearView was given five stars for its TPD cover, and Macquarie Life was named outstanding value for its income protection product.

The Canstar review examined 635,240 quotes from 13 major Australian life insurers, based on 64 profiles of differing gender, age, occupation, premium and features.

Mr O’Connor says while group life premiums have risen dramatically in the past year, rises on retail products have been modest.

“During the past 18 months in particular we have seen some sharp price rises in cover provided by super funds, particularly in relation to disability cover,” he said. “While there are a number of factors contributing to this, these haven’t affected the advised life industry.

“Essentially it means advised life insurance customers are benefitting from both certainty of cover and relative certainty of cost.”