Life Insurance News
AIA Insurance Measures Australia's Health Concerns
05/12/2011
AIA Insurance has recently completed research into the health concerns and hopes of Australians.
Labeled the 'Healthy Living Index Survey' the study was part of a much larger sample conducted throughout the Asia Pacific region with 10,200 participants, 500 of these being Australian.
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Better Mining Insurance Solutions from Comminsure
01/12/2011
CommInsure has recently improved their mining insurance offering with an extra 33 new occupation added to their unique-occupation based cover.
The mining insurance improvements are part of CommInsure's recent life insurance and income protection policy enhancements for 2011, coinciding with the launch of their new product disclosure statement.
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Tower Completes Brand Transition to TAL Insurance
25/10/2011
Tower Insurance has announced the completion of its brand transition to TAL Insurance for its Retail Life Insurance and Investment businesses. The new name and brand will now be used in all of TAL Insurance’s marketing, product and promotional material moving forward.
The TAL Insurance name and brand was first announced in May 2011 following Tower Australia's separation and de-merger from Tower New Zealand.
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MLC Insurance Launches New Policy
21/10/2011
MLC Insurance has launched a new life insurance policy range following its merge with Aviva Insurance nearly 18 months later.
Aptly branded as 'MLC Insurance', the new policy suite combines features from Aviva's Protectionfirst and MLC's Personal Protection Portfolio offerings.
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Asteron to Transfer Life Insurance to Suncorp
13/10/2011
Asteron Insurance has announced that from 1 January 2012, Asteron's life insurance business will be transferred to Suncorp Life & Superannuation Limited (SLSL).
Asteron has stated that the proposed transfer will simplify the business, since Asteron already functions within Suncorp itself.
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Not Enough Australian Families Calculate Life Insurance Needs
12/07/2011
A recent survey has found that less than 50% of Australian households do not examine their life insurance needs; even though those with children listed premature death as a major financial concern.
The MetLife survey looked at the financial concerns and expectations of employees, and the international trends of employer provided life insurance. The survey also looked at retirement, health insurance and disability.
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OnePath & ANZ Wealth Advice Merge
23/06/2011
ANZ Wealth has announced plans to merge the OnePath and ANZ Wealth advice and distribution businesses.
ANZ has stated that the changes are vital to ensure the business has the right management team to deliver its strategic priorities.
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Life insurance adviser becomes BRW 2011 Fast Starter
13/05/2011
xLife is a BRW 2011 Fast Starter for the second year running.
The quality of the 2011 BRW Fast Starters was as high as ever, as businesses and entrepreneurs presented the solid business practices required to deliver growth in a downturn exhibiting innovation and resilience.
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Tower Australia changes name to TAL
6/05/2011
Tower Australia Group Limited (TOWER Australia), one of our nations biggest life insurance company's, has recently announced it will be changing its name to TAL.
This name change follows after Tower Australia's separation and de-merger, and the resulting expiration of a five-year agreement with Tower New Zealand to use the TOWER name in Australia.
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AMP & AXA merger receives court approval
7/04/2011
AMP is finally set to merge with AXA Asia Pacific Holdings Limited (AXA APH) after the Supreme Court of Victoria's recent approval.
Under the approved Share Scheme, AMP will acquire 100% of AXA APH, merging AXA APH's Australian and New Zealand businesses with those of AMP, and divesting AXA APH's Asian businesses to AXA SA.
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Tower insurance & CommInsure tie for Life Insurance Award
14/03/2011
Tower Insurance and CommInsure have been announced as the joint winners of the 2010 Plan For Life/AFA Life Company of the Year Award.
This is the second tie in the Award's five-year history, following the joint win by Asteron and Aviva in 2008.
CommInsure has backed up on its win in 2009 (it also won in 2007), while this is the first time Tower Insurance has won the Award.
The announcement was made at a packed industry function in Sydney, attended by life insurance companies, adviser and dealer group representatives as well as many other life insurance industry contributors.
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BT life insurance launches into IFA market
9/03/2011
BT Financial Group will deliver a fresh approach to the life insurance sector by extending their insurance footprint and launching an independent financial adviser (IFA) end-to-end solution.
Launching the first product suite, BT Protection Plans, under the new brand BT Insurance, BT Financial Group's head of life insurance Phil Hay said the three year project has created a service model that will clearly differentiate them from its competitors.
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Funeral insurance war tipped to change with Zurich's first risk-free policy
8/03/2011
If you've watched day time T.V. lately it's hard to escape the funeral insurance ads. The war waging between Real Insurance and Insuranceline for funeral insurance domination has been going on for quite some time.
Insuranceline, owned by Tower Insurance, is one of the first companies to sell funeral insurance to Australians. However Real Insurance, backed by South African founded Hollard's Insurance soon followed with their own funeral insurance offering.
Although with Zurich's new funeral insurance policy the scales are tipped to change with even more competition to benefit consumers. Touted as Australia's first risk-free funeral insurance policy, it offers full payment of the sum insured, or refunds premiums paid if death is not by accident or suicide within the first 2 years.
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Tower Insurance Board Recommends Dai-ichi Offer
4/02/2011
On the 29 December 2010 Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company Limited (Dai-ichi) made an offer to purchase a 100% stake in Tower Insurance (Australia).
Tower Insurance's 29% shareholder, Dai-ichi Life Insurance of Japan, has offered $4 a share to take out the minorities via a scheme of arrangement. Tower Insurance's Independent Directors have unanimously recommended that shareholders should vote in favour of the offer.
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Important Life Insurance & Income Protection Insurance answers for Queensland flood victims
3/02/2011
To assist policyholders affected by the devastating Queensland floods who have a life insurance or income protection insurance policy, xLife have put together the following answers to help you manage your policy.
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What do life insurance claims & bushfires have in common?
1/02/2011
One thing that life insurance claims and bushfires have in common is that you don't see them coming.
Bushfires are unfortunately a part of Australian life; and those who have suffered from the fatal 2009 Black Saturday bushfires will attest to the devastating effects of the bushfire on their lives and those of loved ones. The 2009 bushfire was the worst natural disaster in Australia's history, surpassing the 1983 Ash Wednesday fires. Not only were thousands of homes burnt, but over 200 lives were lost.
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CommInsure Insurance announces $1.5 billion in extra cover for free
24/01/2011
CommInsure Insurance has announced that they will be rewarding their valuable customers with a loyalty bonus benefit which is currently giving out $1.5 billion in extra cover.
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AIA Insurance steps forward to help Queensland flood victims
18/01/2011
AIA Insurance has been one of the first life insurance companies in Australia to provide resources to help victims of the recent Queensland flood crisis.
Clients affected are encouraged to contact AIA Insurance on 1800 137 338 to discuss the range of assistance options available. The AIA Insurance team is ready to assist with claims and to guide clients through the process as smoothly and as quickly as possible.
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Dai-ichi to bid for Tower Insurance
17/01/2011
Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company has announced plans to acquire the rest of the shares of common stock of TOWER Insurance; of which it currently has a 28.96% stake. Japan's Dai-ichi Life Insurance has confirmed it will pay Y99.6 billion ($1.2bn) to buy the remaining 71.04% of Tower Insurance.
The offer for Australia's third largest life insurance company will be via a scheme of arrangement and is priced at $4 a share, a hefty 46.5 % premium to Tower Insurance's last close of $2.73 on Christmas Eve.
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AIA insurance wins over Sunsuper
21/12/2010
AIA Insurance has announced that it has won a mandate to provide life insurance and income protection insurance cover to more than one million members of Sunsuper, one of the nation's biggest superannuation funds.
The new arrangements, effective for Sunsuper members from July 1 next year, are expected to generate annual insurance premiums of around $160 million per year.
AIA Insurance CEO Damien Green said Sunsuper's decision to award the tender to AIA Insurance was extremely pleasing.
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AXA Insurance Offers RACV Members Discounted Life Insurance
9/12/2010
AXA Insurance has partnered with RACV to offer its members discounted life insurance. A 5% discount will be available for RACV members on AXA Insurance's Elevate Life Insurance, Trauma Insurance and Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) Insurance.
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AMP, AXA APH and AXA SA sign merger transaction documents
9/12/2010
AMP Limited (AMP), AXA Asia Pacific Holdings Limited (AXA APH) and AXA SA have signed binding transaction documents following the successful completion of initial due diligence.
This will allow a merger of the Australian and New Zealand businesses of AXA APH with AMP's operations while AXA SA will acquire 100 per cent of AXA APH's Asian businesses.
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Do you trust your life insurance adviser?
3/12/2010
New research has highlighted a lack of trust in Australian consumers towards large financial services companies and financial advisers, including life insurance advisers.
The report, by independent research provider Datamonitor, examines the shift in global consumer attitudes towards life insurance services over the June 2009 to June 2010 period.
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Asteron Insurance removes medical assessments
25/11/2010
Asteron Insurance has announced that they have eliminated mandatory medical assessments (Personal Medical Attendant Reports - PMAR's) and specialist medicals across all types of cover. This includes life insurance, income protection insurance, trauma insurance and TPD Insurance.
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Macquarie Life Active Reaches $1 Million Mark
24/09/2010
Ten weeks after the launch of Macquarie Life Active, Macquarie Insurance has announced the product has reached a milestone of $1 million in insurance premiums.
According to Macquarie Insurance, 180 advisers have submitted applications for the severity-based trauma insurance product on behalf of more than 500 clients. Of these advisers, the insurer says 30% are either new to Macquarie Insurance or have submitted proposals for the first time this year.
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Life insurance competition tightens with Virgin & Tower Insurance alliance
23/09/2010
Virgin Money and Tower Insurance Australia have both announced today the formation of an alliance to deliver life insurance in Australia.
Life insurance policies will be introduced by early 2011, further expanding Virgin Money's current insurance porfolio.
The move by Virgin and Tower Insurance is another step towards the company's aspirations to offer a wide range of financial services products in Australia.
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Top Life Insurance Companies Win CANSTAR CANNEX Award
21/09/2010
Life insurance companies ING Insurance and Zurich Insurance have been recognised with CANSTAR CANNEX's Outstanding Value Packaged Life Award for 2010. This is the third consecutive year that ING Insurance has been awarded this rating, and it is the second year in a row for Zurich Insurance.
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Life insurance adviser reaches SmartCompany Smart50 2010
06/09/2010
As one of Australia's most trusted online life insurance advisors, xLife has again made a notable achievement by being ranked for the SmartCompany Smart50 Award 2010.
"This achievement further proves our determination to educate Aussies about the importance of adequate life insurance" stated Russell Cain, Director of xLife, "the figures from Daffodil Day speak for themselves; the average Australian has a one-in-two chance of being diagnosed with cancer by age 85".
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New Trustmark for Life Insurance Products and Services
31/08/2010
A new Trustmark standard is to be introduced next year for financial products and services, intended to act as a quality indicator for consumers. This initiative has been created by the Financial Services Council (previously IFSA), and was announced to delegates last week at the Councils annual Conference in Melbourne.
The FSC Trustmark is to be applied to a range of qualifying financial products and services across life insurance, superannuation, and investments.
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ANZ announces OnePath brand to replace ING Insurance
05/08/2010
ANZ today announced that OnePath would replace ING as the name and brand for its specialist funds management and life insurance businesses in Australia and New Zealand.
ANZ CEO Australia Philip Chronican said: "ANZ has a clear aspiration to grow more aggressively in the large and rapidly expanding wealth market."
"Following the move to full ownership of the ANZ-ING joint ventures in November 2009, we are now putting in place the building blocks to deliver more distinctive and integrated propositions to our customers and to support the growth of our Wealth businesses."
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TOWER Insurance Tops $1B in In-force Life Insurance Premiums
04/08/2010
TOWER is one of only four life companies in this industry to achieve this milestone and whilst one of four, this achievement is even more significant given that TOWER is the first and only specialist life insurance provider to have achieved this result.
TOWER Insurance Australia continues to grow in the Australian life insurance market with its in-force premium levels now topping $1 billion. The company achieved the benchmark in the June 2010 quarter.
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Bank of Queensland completes purchase of St Andrews Life Insurance
04/08/2010
Bank of Queensland (BOQ) has completed the purchase of St Andrew's Insurance (Australia) Pty Ltd and St Andrew's Life Insurance Pty Ltd. The purchase price was $45 million, subject to post-completion adjustments.
BOQ Managing Director David Liddy said the purchase was a 'capital-lite' acquisition, requiring capital equivalent to less than half a year of organic growth.
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Compare life insurance quotes & save thousands
22/07/2010
It's true that the direct life insurance market has grown over the past year. We've all seen and heard the advertisements on TV and over the radio. However what many people may not realize, is that these 'off-the-shelf', or direct life insurance policies, are often far more expensive compared to life insurance policies underwritten to take into account your medical history.
So why are so many Australians choosing direct life insurance instead of selecting a life insurance policy underwritten specifically for their needs?
xLife Director, Russell Cain, believes it all comes down to education.
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Life insurance premiums reduced by 20%
28/05/2010
Asteron issued the first life insurance policy in Australia in 1833 (formerly Australian Assurance), and has now come out with another industry first, launching a new policy benefit called the 'Healthy Plus Option' which rewards healthy Australians by reducing their life insurance premiums by 20%.
The 20% discount applies immediately after policy acceptance, and is lowered by 1% each year, to a minimum of 10% over the life of the policy.
However the client is also given the choice of refreshing their policy discount by completing their qualification tests again to re-qualify for the full 20% discount.
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MLC Insurance launches income protection insurance for high income earners
27/05/2010
MLC Insurance has launched an income protection insurance product for high income earners, such as medical practitioners, legal practitioners and high earning executives (surgeons, doctors, solicitors).
The new level of benefit provides certainty for high income earners in the event that they are unable to work for a period of time as a result of sickness or accident.
The new income protection insurance monthly benefit offers clients the ability to protect their income up to $60,000 per month on an agreed value basis. However you will need to show at least two years of financial evidence to justify this monthly benefit.
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Macquarie set to launch new all-in-one life insurance policy
20/05/2010
Macquarie Insurance is set to launch a new type of life insurance product this month.
The new product will be the first of its kind in Australia, rolling life insurance, trauma insurance, and TPD insurance into one product.
Labelled 'Macquarie Life Active', the all-in-one product will also give you the option of adding on income protection insurance or child cover.
Unlike other types of life insurance policies in Australia, benefit payments under the new Macquarie Insurance product will be graded based on the seriousness of the claim condition or event. So the more serious the event is, the larger the benefit payment. Even if a health event is not specifically mentioned you may still be covered under this policy.
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AXA Insurance to introduce blended life insurance premiums
3/05/2010
AXA Insurance Australia is planning to introduce a blended premium option to its term life insurance, total and permanent disablement insurance, and trauma insurance offerings.
The new blended premium option is being introduced in April 2010 and is designed to give individuals more choice as to how they pay for their risk cover, as well as to help customer retention rates.
This will make AXA Insurance the second life insurance company to offer this option following AIA Insurance's lead in this style of life insurance premium.
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Life insurance adviser reaches BRWs top 100 in Australia
xLife is a BRW 2010 Fast Starter.
3/05/2010
The 2010 BRW Fast Starters are richer, faster growing and have higher turnover and more confidence about their success than ever before. xLife is proud to have become a BRW 2010 Fast Starter.
xLife is based in North Sydney, Australia and offers an online comparison service for term life insurance, income protection insurance and trauma insurance. xLife also offers a superannuation advice service for those seeking limited or full financial advice.
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ANZ to commence ING rebranding
19/04/2010
ANZ Banking Group Ltd has announced it will be commencing a new and separate brand identity for its $50 billion wealth management business ING Australia, The Herald Sun reported.
The lender undertook the rebranding process due to requirements to drop the ING brand by the end of August, under the terms of its buyout deal negotiated with ING Group last September.
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Top Business Wins Life Insurance Companys Award
9/04/2010
xLife was declared 2009's fastest growing business by TOWER insurance Australia on 31st March. The award was announced during TOWER Insurance Australia's 2010 Partner's Forum in front of hundreds at the Annual Business Awards. xLife won the 'Highest Growth Inforce' Award, beating a number of top financial advisors in Australia.
Mr Russell Cain, Director of xLife said "We are very proud to have won this award. As an up and coming business it's very satisfying to know that we are being recognised for our growth."
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MMC Contrarian to Acquire MBF Life Insurance for 195 million
9/04/2010
MMC Contrarian Limited (MMC) (ASX: MMA) has signed agreements to acquire Bupa Australia's Life Insurance business (MBF Life) and Wealth Management business (ClearView Retirement Solutions) for $195 million.
As part of the transaction, MMC has entered into an exclusive alliance with Bupa Australia to market its life insurance and wealth management products to Bupa Australia's 2.9 million private health insurance customers for a period of 10 years.
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Australia Enhances Rules Governing Life Insurance Companies
26/03/2010
The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has released final prudential standards on enhancements to the prudential framework for life insurance companies.
Legislation was passed in 2009 that gave APRA power to regulate non-operating holding companies (NOHCs) of life insurance companies, including the power to determine prudential standards for life NOHCs. APRA will apply to these NOHCs the same governance and fit and proper standards that currently apply to NOHCs of authorised deposit-taking institutions (ADIs) and general insurers.
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Most Australians lack life insurance and are shockingly underinsured
18/03/2010
Recent research commissioned by the Investment and Financial Services Association into the underinsurance of Australians. The research was released on 2 March 2010, saying that 95 per cent of families do not have adequate insurance. This research also found that "the typical Australian family will lose 50 per cent or more of their income following the serious illness, injury or loss of one parent, as a result of underinsurance".
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AIG to Sell AIA to Prudential
4/03/2010
American International Group, Inc. (AIG Insurance) (NYSE: AIG) announced today a definitive agreement for the sale of the AIA Insurance Group, Limited (AIA), one of the world's largest pan-Asian life insurance companies, to Prudential plc for approximately $35.5 billion, including approximately $25 billion in cash, $8.5 billion in face value of equity and equity-linked securities, and $2.0 billion in face value of preferred stock of Prudential, subject to closing adjustments.
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Life insurance consolidation will affect Aussies
19/02/2010
TOWER Insurance Australia has warned that Australians will suffer higher product margins and limited products if the life insurance industry continues to consolidate.
"In terms of increased life market consolidation, we see major consumer concern impacts around consolidation and believe the ACCC and Government should look at this closely. We do not believe this is in the best interests of Australians as consumers." said Mr Minto, Tower's Managing Director.
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AXA agrees sale to NAB
17/12/2009
NAB today announced that it has agreed certain key terms with AXA Asia Pacific ("AXA AP") for NAB to acquire AXA AP's Australian and New Zealand businesses.
AXA AP's independent directors will recommend to shareholders that they accept NAB's proposal (the "Proposal") to acquire all of the shares in AXA AP on terms that value the Australian and New Zealand businesses at A$4.6 billion.
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NAB acquires Aviva Australias wealth management business
22/06/2009
National Australia Bank has agreed to purchase Aviva Australia Holdings' wealth management business including its life insurance operations and investment platform, Navigator, for $825 million.
The acquisition is expected to be earnings per share and return on equity accretive in the first full year following acquisition (excluding estimated integration costs). Prior to completion Aviva Australia Holdings will pay a $40 million dividend.