Macquarie tweaks super insurance

Macquarie Adviser Services has made changes to its superannuation insurance cover, including the introduction of an upfront commission for death and total and permanent disability cover.

Macquarie Adviser Services head Neil Roderick says this is the first time upfront commissions have been offered to advisers in this genre of product anywhere in the market.

The upfront commission has been set at 45 per cent, and the ongoing commission has been increased from 15 to 22.5 per cent.

Product and marketing head Matthew Rady says advisers are also able to “dial up” or “dial down” the level of payment, depending on whether they opt for full commission or operate as fee for service.

Another change, which Macquarie says is designed to support adviser relationships with clients, is an improvement in the takeover provisions for clients with existing insurance with other insurers.

Rady says it is quite difficult to move from an existing to new insurer without putting clients through things like medical checks.

“Now all clients insured under five years ago elsewhere are automatically accepted,” Rady says.

Macquarie has also made an effort to improve communications and expand its client service team.

Roderick says the business now has a dedicated insurance administration and client service team to increase efficiency in processing applications and answering adviser questions.

Macquarie insurance cover is presently being offered through Macquarie SuperOptions, Super Manager and the recently launched Super Accumulator (Baby Wrap) platforms.

Roderick says that the combination of insurance with superannuation helps advisers as they do not have to remember to pay premiums.

“These are automatically deducted from the superannuation account and clients can use their pre-tax superannuation contributions to fund the premiums,” he says.