Scrutiny of life/risk remuneration misdirected
Much of the scrutiny directed at life/risk adviser remuneration might have been better directed towards insurance company conduct and claims handling, according to ClearView managing director, Simon Swanson.
Commenting on highly critical media reports involving Comminsure, Swanson said it was very disappointing and proof that the industry still had a long way to go to meet the standards expected of it.
Swanson, who nearly a decade ago was the managing director of Comminsure, said he believed there was a real need for the implementation of a code of practice and that it should be an integral part of RG 183.
Swanson pointed to the internal cultural conflicts which could exist between bankers and insurers and also renewed his calls for the removal of conflicts of interest in the space, including the opening up of Approved Product Lists (APLs) and the removal of shelf space fees.
Life/risk commentator and specialist, Col Fullagar said that as disturbing as some of the case-studies revealed in the media reports published by Fairfax and the ABC's Four Corners were, they came as no surprise to him.
"I find myself daily working with people who are in situations which are equally tragic," he said.
Fullagar, who is the principal of Integrity Resolutions, has written columns in Money Management in which he has described a "bullying culture" within the claims areas of some insurance companies and today said he sensed this had worsened in the wake of profitability being eroded in the wake of the global financial crisis.
He said while he believed people were better served dealing with insurers with the assistance of financial advisers, even the advisers had noted a hardening of attitude on the part of some insurers.
Advisers can help clients navigate the process, but it doesn't mean that bastardry won't be encountered," Fullagar said.
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