ASIC points to insurer comparison site selling its owner’s products
At least one life insurance company owns a life insurance comparison website through which it distributes at least some of its products direct to consumers, according to the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC).
What is more, the regulator has pointed to the possibility of consumers being misled if they are not aware that the products being promoted on the website are actually issued by the owner of the website.
Answering questions on notice from the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services, the regulator reinforced its concerns about vertical integration noting, “Because of their structure, vertically integrated entities face inherent conflicts of interest”.
Then, dealing with question of direct insurance sales, the ASIC answer noted that it was “aware of at least one business model where a life insurer owns a life insurance comparison website”.
“The comparison website distributes some life insurance direct to consumers without personal advice,” it said. “Generally, the comparison website directs the consumer to the life insurer to complete the sale. In this case, the distribution costs are represented by the insurer's costs in operating the website.”
“There may be a risk that the consumer may be misled if they are not aware that some of the products promoted on the website are issued by the owner of the website,” the answer said.
ASIC said that it had issued a regulatory guide (RG 234) which provided guidance about disclosing any connections to the providers of the products that were being compared (eg common ownership) to help ensure that consumers were not misled about the influence of the connection on the product promotion.
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Mike Taylor
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