Daniel Waller

As the pool of insurer partners shrinks, a more deliberate approach to panel construction, one that prioritises resilience alongside product fit, is becoming critical to protecting client outcomes and business stability.

Think of your insurer panel like an investment portfolio. A client who puts everything into a single stock might be fine, until they’re not. The same logic applies to how advisers structure their insurer relationships. And with consolidation accelerating across Australia’s life insurance market, that logic has never mattered more.

Insurers are merging, acquiring and restructuring in pursuit of scale and efficiency. MLC Life Insurance and Resolution Life Australasia merged late last year to form Acenda^[1], creating one of Australia’s largest life insurers. Zurich announced a $415 million acquisition of ClearView^[2], expected to complete later this year. And AIA absorbed the Integrity Life portfolio^[3] – a business that had already exited new advice clients – completing that transfer in early 2025. Three significant moves in the space of 18 months.

None of this is inherently problematic. Bigger players can mean stronger capital bases, broader product ranges and more invested distribution infrastructure. But for advisers, fewer players means something else entirely: concentration risk is becoming one of the most underappreciated business risks in the industry.

When fewer insurers account for a greater share of adviser business, the impact of any change, whether it’s repricing, underwriting adjustments, service disruptions or strategic shifts, becomes amplified across client portfolios. In a more concentrated market, the question is no longer just which insurer you choose. It’s how exposed your clients are to that insurer’s decisions when conditions change.

Concentration risk isn’t just a business risk – it’s a client risk

Over-reliance on a single insurer can quickly become a client experience issue at scale. This becomes particularly important during periods of merger integration or structural change. Even when the long-term rationale for a merger is sound, systems need to be combined, teams restructured and service models reset^[4]. During that period, advisers may see delays in underwriting decisions, inconsistent service experiences or longer claims processing times.

These issues rarely stay operational. A delayed underwriting outcome can feel like uncertainty. A slower claims process can feel like a lack of support at the very moment clients need it most. A sudden pricing change can raise questions about whether the original recommendation still holds. Over time, those experiences affect trust, retention and the perceived value of advice.

The challenge compounds when a large proportion of clients sit with the same provider. A repricing decision, a change to the service proposition, or a shift in underwriting appetite can trigger a wave of client reviews and conversations simultaneously. What might otherwise be a manageable insurer adjustment becomes a business-wide event, affecting large segments of the client base at once and increasing the operational burden on advisers.

The issue isn’t insurer quality. Even the strongest insurers experience periods of change. The issue is concentration, and how exposed your clients are to any one provider’s decisions over time. An adviser who has placed the majority of their book with a single insurer doesn’t just face a service issue when that insurer hits turbulence. They face a client trust issue, a relationship management issue and an operational issue, often simultaneously and at scale.

What matters when assessing insurer partnerships today

Adviser panels have traditionally been built around client fit, product competitiveness and operational efficiency. In a consolidating market, those criteria aren’t sufficient on their own. The question to add is a forward-looking one: how will this insurer behave over the next three to five years, and how will my clients experience that?

That means looking beyond the usual product analysis to factors such as:

• Consistency of underwriting philosophy over time, not just current appetite but how stable it has been through previous periods of ownership change or market pressure.
• Claims reputation, particularly during disruption. Claims performance in a steady state tells you something. During an integration period, it tells you much more.
• Service capacity and responsiveness during change. How has this insurer managed continuity through previous system transitions? The answer is usually visible if you ask peers who lived through it.
• Clarity of long-term strategic intent in the advised channel. Is advice central to this insurer’s growth strategy, or a distribution priority that could be deprioritised when capital allocation decisions are made?

Ownership structure is one of the most underused lenses in panel assessment. An insurer that answers to shareholders operates under different incentives to one that answers to policyholders, and those differences show up in decisions around repricing, service investment and long-term product design. Understanding those dynamics, whether the insurer is listed, privately owned or member-owned, gives advisers a more complete picture of how a partner is likely to behave when conditions change.

A three-step lens for reviewing insurer relationships

1. Look beneath the surface. Go beyond product and pricing to assess factors such as financial stability, ownership structure and long-term strategic intent. Consider how these elements shape decision-making over time, particularly in areas such as pricing, service investment and underwriting philosophy, and how aligned those decisions are with member or customer outcomes.
2. Consider how change may play out. Think through how events such as mergers, acquisitions or shifts in capital priorities could affect service, underwriting and client outcomes. Focus on how those changes are likely to be experienced in practice, not just how they are communicated.
3. Sense-check against real-world experience. Draw on peer insights to understand how insurers are performing through periods of change. Pay close attention to consistency across service, underwriting and claims, particularly when conditions are less stable.

Diversification enables better client outcomes, not just risk mitigation

Diversification is often treated as a defensive move – a hedge against things going wrong. But that framing undersells it.

A well-constructed panel improves the quality of advice itself, giving advisers the flexibility to match clients more precisely to the provider best suited to their needs and risk profile, adapt as insurer settings change, and avoid forced compromises when one provider shifts position.

Different insurers bring different strengths. Larger players offer scale, capital depth and product breadth. Specialist providers bring flexibility, niche expertise and responsiveness. And member focused insurers can introduce a longer-term perspective, less influenced by shareholder return dynamics and more oriented toward pricing stability and reinvestment in service^[5]. A thoughtful mix of capabilities, models and incentives, rather than simply more providers, is what creates genuine resilience.

Panels can’t be static in a market that isn’t

Consolidation will continue. So will the integration periods, product resets and strategic pivots that follow. That’s not a reason for alarm, it’s a reason for intentionality.

The advisers who stand out aren’t necessarily those with the largest panels or the most provider relationships. They’re the ones who have thought carefully about what their panel is actually exposed to, and why, who stay curious about how the market is shifting, ask harder questions of their insurer partners, and treat panel construction as a living part of their practice.

A diversified investment portfolio doesn’t just protect against loss. It creates the conditions for better outcomes. A well-constructed insurer panel works the same way.

By Daniel Waller, Head of Distribution

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Notes:
[1] https://www.insurancebusinessmag.com/au/news/life-insurance/acenda-group-formed-after-resolution-life-global-acquisition-closes-555138.aspx
[2] https://finance.yahoo.com/news/zurich-australia-acquire-clearview-wealth-113928138.html
[3] https://www.insurancewatch.com.au/life-insurance-companies.html
[4] https://www.insurancebusinessmag.com/us/news/mergers-acquisitions/bigger-isnt-better-why-scaledriven-insurance-manda-is-falling-out-of-favor-571998.aspx
[5] https://www.insuranceandestates.com/mutual-insurance-company-vs-stock-insurance-company/

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Daniel Waller

Specialist insurer PPS Mutual has announced the appointment of Daniel Waller as Head of Distribution, marking the next phase in its national growth and adviser engagement strategy. Mr Waller succeeds Brian Pillemer, who is retiring after playing a key role in establishing and growing PPS Mutual in Australia.

In his new role, Mr Waller will lead PPS Mutual’s distribution strategy, strengthening adviser relationships and expanding the reach of its professional insurance offering. He will play a central role in driving growth through collaboration, engagement, and service excellence across the adviser network.

Mr Waller brings more than 30 years of financial services experience, with deep expertise in distribution leadership, adviser engagement, and strategic business development. He has held senior roles at leading financial institutions including Resolution Life, Asteron Life, OnePath, and ING, where he led initiatives that strengthened partnerships and supported advisers in delivering exceptional client outcomes.

He joins PPS Mutual amid a period of sustained growth and recognition. The business has now surpassed 15,000 Members, reached $106 million in total in-force premiums, and achieved a $15 million Profit-Share Pool milestone for FY2024–25. For the third consecutive year, PPS Mutual was recognised as Australia’s highest-rated insurer in the Adviser Ratings Australian Financial Advice Landscape 2025 report, achieving a Net Promoter Score of 54.8 – nearly six times higher than the average of 9.5 among insurers in the report.

Commenting on his appointment, Mr Waller said: “After taking the past three years to focus on my young family, I’m really looking forward to returning to the industry with PPS Mutual. I’ve always admired how it operates as a true mutual, where Members share directly in the success of the business. Joining at a time of record membership and Profit-Share Pool is a great opportunity to strengthen adviser partnerships and help deliver even more value to Members.”

Chief Executive Michael Pillemer said the appointment marks an important next step in the firm’s growth story: “Daniel’s depth of experience across distribution, partnerships, and business integration makes him an outstanding addition to our leadership team. As PPS Mutual continues to expand its national presence and deepen adviser engagement, Daniel’s strategic insight and leadership will be instrumental in shaping our next phase of growth. He brings a strong understanding of what drives success in this industry: trust, collaboration, and long-term value for Members.”

Reflecting on his tenure, outgoing Director of Distribution Brian Pillemer said: “Having been part of PPS Mutual from its inception, it has been incredibly rewarding to see the mutual model thrive and make a tangible difference to our Members and the advice community. I am proud to pass the baton to Daniel, who brings the right mix of experience, energy, and alignment with our values.”

PPS Mutual is supported by PPS South Africa, the largest multi-disciplinary group of professionals in the world and the largest mutual company in South Africa since the 1940s – sharing over $3 billion in profits with Members over the last decade. In Australia, PPS Mutual is owned by its Members, who share in the profits of the products they hold.

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Niall McConville

The Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) and its partners have much pleasure in calling for nominations for the AFA’s five awards, including the AFA Adviser of the Year and the AFA Practice of the Year, supported by Zurich; the AFA Rising Star, supported by OnePath; the AFA Female Excellence in Advice, supported by TAL and the AFA Excellence in Education, supported by Asteron Life.

AFA CEO, Philip Kewin said the AFA awards champion excellence, diversity, innovation and education by:

•   recognising the innovative leaders in advice
•   acknowledging the visionary and innovative practices
•   rewarding outstanding female leaders in advice
•   applauding the brightest new talent in advice
• commending those who are committed to pursuing higher professional standards by furthering their education

“We are looking for people within our profession who will be the foundation block of the stronger, more rigorous profession that we are all committed to building,” Mr Kewin said. “Winners will be those people who demonstrate that they are setting an uncompromising standard of excellence that has earned them the trust and confidence of the community.”

Kristine Brooks, Chief Distribution Officer, Zurich Life & Investments, said “Zurich is known for its longstanding commitment to life insurance advice and the professionals who provide it.  Championed by Zurich for 17 years, the AFA Adviser of the Year and the AFA Practice of the Year Awards recognise outstanding individuals and businesses in advice and celebrate qualities of leadership, innovation, customer-centricity and commitment to professional excellence. Our ongoing support of these awards celebrates and promotes best practice in financial advice and is one of the significant ways we help support a vibrant and respected advice profession.”

Commenting on the AFA and TAL Female Excellence in Advice Award, TAL General Manager, Retail Distribution, Niall McConville, said, “We are delighted to be long-term supporters of this Award since 2011. We believe the Award continues to be an important influence in generating awareness around the need for more diversity within the profession itself while also addressing the under-representation of women seeking financial advice. The calibre of entrants to the Award continues to rise, and we look forward to seeing the achievements and community impact of all the participants this year.”

Natalie Jarvis, Head of Strategic Accounts and Sales Strategy at OnePath said, “This is OnePath/ANZ’s 15th year of proudly partnering with the AFA to recognise emerging talent in the financial advice industry. In this time of unprecedented industry change it’s important that we continue to recognise talented professionals joining the industry and support them in their personal and professional development via the AFA Rising Star award.”

Speaking about the AFA Excellence in Education Award, Daniel Waller, Head of Wealth and Life Intermediaries at Asteron Life said, “We’re passionate about education as a way to enhance advice quality and improve client outcomes as well as to build trust within our industry. It’s why we’re delighted to be supporting the AFA Excellence in Education Award. Now more than ever, the community, our industry and advisers are recognising the transformative power of education in advice. With a growing focus on better client outcomes and stronger professionalism, I think we’ll continue to see education being integral to enhancing our industry’s reputation and improving the quality of advice.”

Nominations for all AFA awards are now open and can be made via the following links:

• AFA Adviser of the Year and AFA Practice of the Year supported by Zurich
• AFA Rising Star supported by OnePath
• AFA Female Excellence in Advice supported by TAL
• AFA Excellence in Education supported by Asteron Life

Winners will be announced on 29 August 2019, at the Gala Dinner held during the AFA National Adviser Conference in Adelaide.

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Felicity Cooper

The Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) and Asteron Life (Asteron) have announced Felicity Cooper of Cooper Wealth Management as the winner of the 2018 AFA Excellence in Education Award (the Award).

Finalists of the Award were chosen for their commitment to professional development through continuing education and making a difference within the marketplace and their local community through the practical application of their knowledge and expertise.

Judges placed a weighting across the four criteria areas – 60% on education and 40% on their practice, industry and community combined.

Ms Cooper will receive an education scholarship for study with Kaplan to the value of $25,000.

AFA CEO Phil Kewin said, “Felicity has a refreshing approach to education, proving it is not just about study but true personal development which results in enhanced skills.”

Asteron Life Head of Life Intermediaries, Daniel Waller said, “For 11 years, Asteron Life has proudly supported this Award. We’re delighted to recognise Felicity Cooper who through her education, continues to improve herself and demonstrate uncompromising care for her clients.  This in turn helps strengthen the overall profile of the advice profession.

“I would also like to acknowledge Caleb Dozzi as highly commended for his significant achievements in furthering his education.”

The Award was presented at the AFA National Adviser Conference on the Gold Coast this morning.

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The finalists are:

• Felicity Cooper, Cooper Wealth Management, Director, (QLD)
• Caleb Dozzi, dozzi Financial Advice, Financial Adviser (TAS)
• Michael Fox, Main Street Financial Solutions , Private Client Adviser (QLD)
• Dean Loosmore, Lio Adviser Centre, Financial Planner, (QLD)
• Helen Russo, Encompass Wealth – Financial Life Planning, Financial Planner (QLD)

AFA CEO, Philip Kewin said, “Education is vital to a thriving financial advice profession and these finalists are clearly committed to an ongoing investment in their own education, so that they can continue to deliver great advice to their clients. We commend them all on their efforts.”

The 2018 Excellence in Education Award Winner will be announced at this year’s AFA National Adviser Conference on the Gold Coast 10-12 October, and will receive an education scholarship for study with Kaplan to the value of $25,000.

Asteron Life Executive Manager Daniel Waller said, “We’re very proud to be a long standing supporter of the AFA Excellence in Education Award. This Award encourages and recognises advisers who pursue further education that they apply to their businesses for the overall betterment of the advice provided to their clients. We congratulate the five finalists for their outstanding contribution to strengthening our industry.”

Finalists of the Award are chosen for their commitment to professional development through continuing education and making a difference within the marketplace and their local community through the practical application of their knowledge and expertise.

Candidates are judged on the quality of their written nomination. Judges then conduct phone interviews with shortlisted candidates. Judges placed a weighting across the four criteria areas – 60% on education and 40% on their practice, industry and community combined.

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Nick Hakes

Following industry-wide collaboration, and in partnership with the Beddoes Institute; Asteron Life, Kaplan Professional and the Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) have produced the New Financial Advice Competency Framework White Paper, which sheds light on the industry-wide consensus of the knowledge, attitudes and behaviours required to be a financial adviser.

To be released at the AFA National Adviser Conference on the Gold Coast next week, the Financial Advice Competency Framework builds on the existing and known regulatory standards on education and professionalism, and outlines the knowledge, skills and attributes required by financial advisers, that reflect today’s conversations with clients.

The process of constructing the Financial Advice Competency Framework involved over 60 interviews and rounds of online voting and feedback from an expert panel of over 500 stakeholders including advisers, consumers, regulators, academics, industry and professional association members.

In addition, over 1600 written comments were received by research group the Beddoes Institute and these have further helped shape the new framework.

According to AFA General Manager, Member Services, Partnership and Campus, Nick Hakes this is a first in the history of the financial advice profession.

“This truly is an exciting moment because through collaboration and a continuous consensus process; advisers, consumers, academics, licensees and manufacturers have built a model of all the skills and competencies needed to be a financial adviser.”

At the AFA National Conference the new knowledge domains and competencies needed by financial advisers, as defined by all participants within the sector, will be shared with the industry for the first time.

Recognition that advisers need to understand behavioural patterns to effectively motivate clients to act in their own interest has finally been evidenced by industry consensus.

“Financial advisers play an important role in people’s lives by helping them make good financial decisions and stopping them from making choices that are not in their own best interest,” said Daniel Waller, Head of Wealth and Life Intermediaries at Asteron Life. “This research shows us how to do it”.

The New Financial Advice Competency Framework White Paper reflects on the dedication of all stakeholders to their profession and gives consumers confidence that what is being taught is reflective of the qualities they value the most from their adviser.

“This has been an extensive process and one which the AFA believes will propel the profession forward,” said Mr Hakes. “This is because the White Paper not only outlines the new framework and foreshadows an implementation kit, it also helps shape the professional development requirements of advisers currently not covered by the existing regulatory standards on education and professionalism.”

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