“Ms Rickard brings to the board a wide range of skills from a distinguished public service career in consumer policy. She has a deep understanding of the current and emerging challenges facing consumers and financial firms,” AFCA Independent Chair Professor John Pollaers OAM said when announcing the appointment today.

“We will also benefit from her insight into financial inclusion, as we seek to ensure all Australians have access to our ombuds service.

“The AFCA Board is made up of an independent and expert group of Directors holding extensive financial services industry and consumer experience and brings a breadth of knowledge operating across multi-dimensional and highly complex industries. The Board is committed to ensuring that AFCA continues be an effective external dispute resolution scheme for financial services, with a focus on efficiency and customer service, and providing clear member and community value.

“Ms Rickard’s deep knowledge and expertise in the consumer space will ensure AFCA continues to deliver against these goals and keeps an essential focus on ensuring consumer accessibility and inclusion.”

Ms Rickard has been Deputy Chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) since June 2012. She has extensive public service experience and a passion for consumer protection, and has worked in a variety of senior roles, primarily at the ACCC and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). She is also an Associate Member of the Australian Communications and Media Authority.

“Throughout her illustrious career, Ms Rickard has had a strong interest in financial services and the impact of the financial services industry on vulnerable and disadvantaged consumers. She oversaw development of the highly regarded Moneysmart website at ASIC, and has been a member of numerous committees at the ACCC, including those on the consumer data right, enforcement and compliance, and product safety. She has also been a member of the ACCC’s Financial Services Competition Board, and she chaired the ACCC’s market study into the cost of insurance in Northern Australia,” Prof. Pollaers noted.

Ms Rickard is also a trustee of the Jan Pentland Foundation, which provides scholarships for those who want to work as financial counsellors, and is the Chair of Good Shepherd’s Advisory Committee on Financial Inclusion Action Plans.

Ms Rickard was awarded the Public Service Medal in 2011 for her contribution to consumer protection and financial services. She has also been awarded the Society of Consumer Affairs Professionals Lifetime Achievement Award and was recently announced as the inaugural winner of the Law Council of Australia’s Consumer Rights Award.

Ms Rickard said: “AFCA plays a vital role in protecting consumers and in helping the financial services sector deliver the best possible service to its customers. I look forward to contributing to an organisation with such a strong sense of purpose, one that is having a real impact for consumers and the financial services sector.”

The post Delia Rickard joins AFCA board appeared first on AdviserVoice.

The Bureau of Meteorology predicts a high risk of tropical cyclones this summer . The long-term average is twelve cyclones each season. There is also the ever-present risk of bushfires.

ASIC’s Senior Executive Leader Financial Literacy, Delia Rickard said, ‘To check your insurance covers you properly, start by checking your policy or contacting your insurer and asking them exactly what events you are covered for and what is excluded, for example damage from flooding.’

‘It’s also very important to check you have enough cover. Some home and contents policies may not cover damage from floods, or may have caps on how much you can claim for flooding and other events’, said Ms Rickard.

‘Make sure you have enough home insurance cover by using online calculators on insurance websites to estimate the total cost of rebuilding your home. Try a couple of calculators to compare because the results can differ. Be sure to shop around for appropriate cover and quotes. Phone potential insurers, and ask lots of questions’, Ms Rickard said.

Home insurance policies are usually either ‘sum-insured’, ‘extended replacement cover’ or ‘total replacement’ policies.

Sum-insured cover is more common and will cover you up to a set amount that you choose. Extended replacement cover policies have a sum-insured amount, but will provide a limited amount of extended cover in the event of a total loss. Total replacement cover covers the costs to rebuild your home to the standard it was prior to the event, thus significantly reducing the risk of being underinsured.

There are a number of variations to these basic models, so read the fine print and ask as many questions as possible when comparing insurers. The key is to be sure your policy covers all the costs of rebuilding your home.

The post MoneySmart says check your insurance cover appeared first on AdviserVoice.

The pool of unclaimed money has risen to a record of $636 million, which is over $28 million more than 2010. An additional 157,431 parcels of money have been lodged this year and added to the database administered by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

ASIC Senior Executive Leader Financial Literacy, Consumers, Advisers and Retail Investors, Delia Rickard, said, “There is more money in the unclaimed money pool than ever before, so even if you’ve already searched, you should look again. It’s quick and easy to search for unclaimed money via ASIC’s MoneySmart website. You can search for yourself and for family and friends. The average parcel of money is $652 and there are some huge amounts of money waiting to be claimed. Last year, Australians recovered $62 million.”

Your clients may have unclaimed money if they:

• haven’t made a transaction on a cheque or savings account for over seven years
• stopped making payments on a life insurance policy
• moved without leaving a forwarding address
• have noticed that regular dividend or interest cheques have stopped coming, or
• were executor of a deceased estate.

New South Wales has the most unclaimed money. Below is a state-by-state breakdown.

Encourage your clients to log into ASIC’s free online database at www.moneysmart.gov.au, follow the link to unclaimed money, and type in their name.

If they find some money that might be theirs, they’ll need to prove the money belongs to them or that they are the beneficiary.

Information on how to make a claim is also available on the MoneySmart website.

The post Do your clients have ‘lost super’? appeared first on AdviserVoice.