Limited advice canvassed for direct life/risk
There should be some scope for insurers to provide some form of limited advice around the purchase of direct insurance products.
That was one of the bottom lines of a Financial Services Council Life Insurance Summit panel discussion with head of Swiss Re’s iptiQ, Bronwyn Kirwan pointing to the need for at least some advice around direct insurance products.
In doing so she pointed to the less than wholly successful efforts around limited advice in the United Kingdom and suggested that that outcome ought not preclude Australia considering doing the same.
Kirwan was backed by lawyer, Michael Vrisakis who said he believed it should be possible to sell an annuity or trauma product under a limited advice, personal advice model.
“Whether that can operate in a call centre or high viable that will be will depend on how limited you can go, I think,” he said. “At the end of the day when you’ve got over-arching community expectations that’ll play a definite part.”
“I also believe in innovation in advice – a model where the product issuer might actually fund an advice allowance for the consumer who can then use that to pay the adviser,” Vrisakis said. “That model would actually be allowable under the conflicted remuneration model with any amount paid by the consumer actually an exception.”
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