Retail life insurance sector growing not a moment too soon
Gavin Teichner
Chief Executive – Individual Life
After years of being buffeted by challenges and change, the retail life insurance sector is growing again in a real and sustainable way.
Australians being chronically under-advised and under-protected isn’t a new story, but there are signs this is impacting the community in ways we might not have seen so clearly before.
Consider the surge in crowdfunding platforms such as GoFundMe, which raised USD$9bn in its first nine years of operation from 2010, and USD$21bn in the next five years. Reasons for fundraising on the platform include medical expenses and funerals and memorials.
It’s stark just how many people are turning to reactive ways to address financial shortfalls – essentially, the exact thing quality life insurance is designed to help them avoid.
Financial advisers have shown remarkable resilience in adapting to over a decade of regulatory uncertainty, market shifts and industry upheavals including a Royal Commission, APRA interventions and insurer consolidations.
Advisers are experiencing some meaningful, sustainable growth
Despite this – by embracing technology and finding ways to be more efficient – advisers are experiencing some meaningful, sustainable growth.
We’re also seeing a risk renaissance of sorts with a renewed focus from licensees, the rise of specialist risk groups and holistic advisers either reintroducing risk to their processes or making more referrals out to risk professionals.
But there’s still a way to go. Demand continues to outstrip supply and the cost of quality advice remains a sticking point for advisers and clients.
The advisers and business owners I’ve spoken to across the country are, however, optimistic about the future. They’re thinking carefully about what it will take to continue growing, from further technology improvements, including embracing artificial intelligence, to taking a new approach to partnering with other businesses and product providers.
But the reality is, they can’t (and shouldn’t have to) do it alone.
There’s a gap in support for the risk advice industry
With big institutional players exiting the market post-Royal Commission and software platforms increasingly focused on wealth advice, there’s a gap in support for the risk advice industry. This is where TAL and other insurers need to listen and act.
There are a few areas of focus here. And key to getting it right for advisers is to continue to collaborate with them, making sure we’re addressing what they need us to.
Firstly, enhancing digital capabilities, delivering improved client insights and increasing self-service will help advisers simplify operations and reduce the cost to serve.
Insurers also need to help to reduce the administrative burden on advisers. The ideal solution would see us coming together as an industry to support a secure, cost-effective platform where advisers could access a holistic view of their clients’ details, regardless of which insurer they’re covered with.
It’s a fascinating time to be in life insurance
Finally, quality advice education has never been more important. We’re at an inflection point where we need to continue supporting advisers to provide quality risk advice to clients, while at the same time encouraging the next generation of talent into the advice profession.
TAL has always invested significantly in adviser education and development and is committed to doing more.
This year, we’re celebrating 10 years of TAL Risk Academy, and our Professional Year support program has 480 candidates enrolled for 2025 – equivalent to around 8% of the total number of advisers actively writing risk in the market today.
It’s a fascinating time to be in life insurance. The industry is growing, with more advisers helping Australians access essential protection and building the next generation of advice businesses. Having the right cover makes all the difference when families face into life’s toughest challenges, and advisers play a vital role in putting these plans in place.
If insurers step up and provide more support, together we can further strengthen the industry, create a more productive economy and ensure more Australians are well-advised and well-protected into the future.
Gavin Teichner will be presenting at Riskinfocus 25. Click here for more details.