Money Management’s Mike Taylor reports that according to new research released by Investment Trends, ING (now OnePath) and Asteron have emerged as the most popular life insurers amongst planners. Research also revealed NAB’s acquisition of Aviva had contributed to its emergence as the largest player in the insurance space for advisers.
A significant finding from the research was the degree to which advisers had returned to writing risk and the manner in which they were doing so, with Investment Trends revealing almost 80% of advisers now write some form of risk advice via a platform, with CFS First Choice and MLC Masterkey dominating.
Investment Trends Advisory Board Member Tim Cobb commented on the findings which highlighted the level of competition between insurance companies in the adviser space, saying it was healthy for the industry. Cobb said he expects competition will remain intense regardless of the current round of takeovers.
The Investment Trends research found average life insurance premiums written by planners in 2010 rose by 37% to $99,000 with risk advice now contributing 32% of average practice revenue.
Cobb said the research indicated life insurance continued to be a strong growth story with advisers optimistic about growth in the next 12 months regardless of forthcoming regulatory changes.
Looking at the software underpinning for the sector, the Investment Trends research found that IRESS Market Technology dominated the area of risk advice software with four products in the top eight used by advisers, including Xplan IQM being the software most widely used for risk advice.
It found that Coin and Xplan Risk Researcher had showed the greatest growth in usage.
Please note Quotesonline Insurance News is an information service provided by third parties Insure 247 Australia doesn’t warrants the accuracy of any information contained there in, readers should make their own enquiry’s before relying on information in the stories Terms of Service
