Launch of Client Advice Support Initiative

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Partners Life is set to launch a new service which will enable eligible staff to have more expanded personal advice conversations with clients.

In an announcement released at the end of last week, the insurer says it has identified an opportunity arising out of the implementation of the new financial services regime that will allow members of its client engagement team to become its first nominated representatives*.

It says its client engagement team members have, until now, had “…very little scope to have truly constructive conversations with clients due to the limitations of the type of financial advice they could give.” Following appropriate training, however, Partners Life says its nominated representatives can now begin to have more robust conversations with clients regarding affordability issues, while also being able to discuss all possible options available for the clients to retain their cover. The insurer notes these conversations can include:

  • Providing quotations for alterations
  • Discussing other retention options within the Partners Life product range, such as premium holidays or policy suspensions

Partners Life …will ensure it involves the client’s financial adviser

Partners Life notes its nominated representatives will be limited to having discussions with policy holders around affordability of select Partners Life products only, and it will ensure it involves the client’s financial adviser, if they wish:

“We will refer your clients to you in the first instance and keep you involved in all communications,” says the statement, which adds that advisers can elect to opt out of this offering if they prefer the nominated representative staff not have such exchanges with their clients.

The insurer says this new service will replace the existing arrears management service its client engagement team currently offers and that advisers who have already opted out of the existing service will automatically be excluded from the nominated representative offer unless they advise otherwise. It says all other advisers will automatically be included in the new service, and will need to contact Partners Life if they wish to be excluded.

This new initiative will commence from next Monday 17 May, where some of the benefits intended to stem from this service, according to the insurer, include:

  • Avoiding commission claw-backs
  • Maximising renewal income
  • Helping to maintain a healthy persistency rate

Where advisers opt out of the service, this will not include clients that call Partners Life directly: “While we will refer them to you in the first instance, we will need to respect their wishes if they request to discuss their options with Partners Life.”

* A Nominated Representative is defined under the Financial Services Legislation Amendment Act 2019 as a category of people able to provide financial advice:

  • A Nominated Representative is: ‘An individual engaged by a licensed financial advice provider to provide regulated financial advice on their behalf. …Nominated representatives do not need to register on the Financial Service Providers Register.
  • ‘The nominated representative (is) a person who gives financial advice as restricted by the systems and processes of the financial advice provider’