Partners Life Shakes up Adviser Support Network

The challenge of meeting the individual needs of the wider adviser community is being tackled head-on by Partners Life.

As revealed at last week’s national adviser conference in Auckland, the insurer is shaking up its Adviser Distribution Manager (ADM) department to change how it works across three key areas of the business, and in the process abandoning the old model of assigning ADMs to advisers based on their location.

Under the old Partners Life system, new advisers, experienced advisers, and corporate businesses received help from the same people.

The firm says this rationale caused “significant limitations” to its ability to support adviser businesses for the following reasons:

• New to industry advisers, very experienced advisers, and corporate businesses were all allocated to a single ADM, but they have different needs
• The one-dimensional relationship approach limits adviser exposure to the expertise of the wider Partners Life team
• By trying to be everything to everyone, ADMs are not able to specialise

Starting 1 June, the firm says the allocation of ADMs to advisers will be based on the type of adviser business.

Partners Life has identified four adviser business segments (see above) and will allocate a team of ADMs and Key Account Managers to each one. Different teams have also been formed to work across Partners Life’s adviser community:

1. Team Kowhai: Businesses with either a high growth focus or potential
2. Team Kauri: Corporate businesses
3. Team Rimu: SME businesses
4. Team Manuka: For smaller businesses

The firm is also appointing staff to the following roles:

• A Compliance Specialist
• A Product Specialist
• A Business Insurance Specialist

In addition, Partners Life is developing a new adviser mentorship programme that will have a dedicated team working only with new entrants to the industry.

“We believe this will make a significant difference in their success as insurance advisers,” says the firm.