Advisers working in Australia are happier with the life insurers they are working with according to an Adviser Ratings study, with the net ‘score’ rising from minus 5.4 last year to plus 3.6.
The research firm says its annual study, currently under way with input from nearly 1,000 advisers, “…reveals a significant shift in advisers’ satisfaction with their life insurers”.
It says the change follows the implementation of a “…widespread repricing in the industry, particularly impacting income protection products. Advisers are increasingly acknowledging the life insurers’ foundational reset efforts and their invitation to engage in writing new business”.
Adviser Ratings says that to date, approximately 2,000 insurer reviews have resulted in the industry achieving a positive Net Promoter Score for the first time since the full implementation of Life Insurance Framework (LIF).
The company says that over the past year, there’s been a marked increase in the urgency displayed by both regulators and insurers in Australia in addressing the “…chronic under-insurance issue and the consistently low levels of new business”.
It points to initiatives such as the formation of the Council of Australian Life Insurers, the investment in new technologies such as LifeBid to enhance operational efficiencies and APRA’s December initiative to open a data transformation consultation project.