Kristine Brooks
Zurich Financial Services Australia (Zurich) will this week launch its LIF support package for financial advisers, via a national roadshow.
The ‘Blueprints for the Future’ comprise five pillars of LIF support, designed to help advisers position themselves ahead of the July 1st transition.
The Blueprints were developed following extensive consultation with advisers in the latter part of 2015, and also reflect previously released Zurich research which showed that:
- Advisers were planning to expand their advice offering and seek higher value client segments; and
- Advisers planned to drive efficiency improvements by investing in technology and increase their usage of insurer provided services, such as tele-underwriting and online applications.
Zurich’s ‘Blueprints for the Future’ represent targeted support across five key areas:
- Product innovation
- Efficiency
- Business marketing and management
- Customer care and advocacy
- Best practice
Zurich will bring the support to life in a number of ways throughout the year, including a recently released product overhaul, new technology, service initiatives and a revamped educational offering – the Zurich Curriculum.
Commenting on the launch, Ms Kristine Brooks, Head of Distribution for Zurich’s Life and Investments business, said the LIF reforms represented one of the life industry’s most significant changes in decades, and that a partnership approach was vital in adapting to and leveraging the changes.
“The Blueprints represent all the practical ways advisers have told us they want to be supported,” said Ms Brooks.
“For example, efficiency is a key focus for advisers right now, so we are concentrating on those technology based initiatives which can bring greater efficiency to all aspects of the advice value chain, including the initial client engagement and onboarding and ongoing client management, as well as the obvious areas like the new business and underwriting processes,” she said.
“Our recently released risk product update was very carefully thought through, with advisers having made it clear that customers are seeking more simplicity, more affordability and more sustainability.
“So that’s what we delivered, with a simpler pricing structure that was reflected in lower Term and TPD rates, and our new Income Protector range, which has a more sustainable design and pricing.
“Our two-year rate certainty commitment was designed to give advisers and customers more certainty and stability too,” said Ms Brooks.
“Adapting to change of this magnitude is no easy task, but with the support represented by our five Blueprints for the Future, we are confident we can help advisers create a framework that sees better advice, better advice businesses and better customer outcomes.”
The Blueprints for the Future roadshow starts in Perth this week and will visit all mainland state capital cities.
More information on the Blueprints can be found at Zurich.com.au/independent.
