Life insurers must deliver meaningful code
The life insurance industry is under an obligation to develop a "meaningful" code of conduct in the immediate post-Trowbridge environment, according to TAL chief executive, Brett Clark.
Speaking on a panel at the Financial Services Council national conference on the Gold Coast, Clark remarked on the fact that the general insurance sector had followed a code of practice for the past 20 years but this had not been emulated in the life/risk sector.
Asked by AIA Insurance chief executive, Damien Mu, why this had been the case, Clark said he believed that it was because, in part, the life/risk sector had been more intermediary and adviser focused than it had been consumer focused.
"I think for many years we were simply not very consumer-facing," Clark said.
However he said that given the degree of meaningful change which had been imposed on advisers out of the Trowbridge Report, it was incumbent on the life insurance companies to develop a code of conduct which was equally meaningful.
"I think it is an important test of us as an industry to show how far we are prepared to go," Clark said. "It is important for us to develop something meaningful and not just a set of words."
He said one of the key elements was establishing the objective of the code but it generally cam down to engendering consumer trust and confidence.
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