Featuring testimonials from ClearView customers, Claims at ClearView: What our customers say about us, showcases the value that financial advisers add, particularly at claim time, with the latest data from the Australian Prudential and Regulation Authority (APRA) confirming that taking out cover through an adviser often results in more competitive features and benefits, higher sums insured, faster payment times and fewer disputes.

According to Simon Swanson, ClearView Managing Director, it is up to the financial services community to educate consumers, policy makers and regulators about the value of professional advice and the difference it makes in peoples’ lives.

“Educating the community about the value of life insurance is a core part of ClearView’s customer engagement strategy. The industry has historically struggled to clearly articulate the tangible value it adds but it’s on full display during claim time,” he said.

“That looks like helping a client in desperate need complete and lodge a claim application, arrange doctors’ appointments, liaise with insurers and, ultimately, telling them that their claim has been accepted.”

Using the power of storytelling, nine ClearView customers boldly share their experience getting life insurance and, ultimately, claiming on their policy, after suffering an unexpected accident, injury or illness.

Of the nine customers, seven have had a claim paid in the last 24 months including five in the past year.

The booklet includes customer reviews from Suzanne, who lost her husband of 50 years, Laurence, to pancreatic cancer in 2021; Greg who has terminal cancer and been given roughly five years to live; and Stuart who was recently diagnosed with Lewy Body Disease.

It also includes stories from Melissa who suffered years of unhealthy workplace conditions, leading to anxiety and mental illness, and Jenna, who went for a routine pregnancy check-up only for doctors to detect a mass on her brain.

“Life insurance advice and the impact of the Life Insurance Framework are key focus areas of the Quality of Advice Review, which creates a unique opportunity for life insurers and financial advisers to get their clients to advocate for them,” Mr Swanson said.

“Customer reviews are extremely powerful and if we don’t talk about our successes then no one else will.”

The release of Claims at ClearView: What our customers say about us, follows ClearView’s submission to the Quality of Advice Review, which petitioned for no further adverse changes to life insurance commission caps in order to provide much needed stability and confidence.

Download the booklet.

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Around 67% of financial advisers would stop providing standalone risk advice and a further 20% are unsure if they would continue, if life insurance commissions are subject to further changes. According to ClearView’s QAR submission, which is based on a survey of advisers conducted by ClearView between 20 April, 2022 and 23 May, 2022, the Life Insurance Framework (LIF) has had no material impact on advice quality since its introduction in 2018 and has only quashed the ability of advisers to service clients with relatively simple needs.

Instead, the ongoing separation of product and advice – leading to the breakdown of vertical integration and the institutional exodus from personal advice – has had the biggest impact on lifting standards, followed by higher education and training requirements.

Only 5% of advisers believe LIF has had a material impact on advice quality.

The ClearView Quality of Advice survey also found that the advice industry is heavily dependent on life insurance commission revenue, with 94% of advisers accepting life insurance commissions. Furthermore, 70% of advisers do not plan to change the way they charge for life insurance advice and a further 17% are unsure.

Almost 70% of advisers do not believe consumers will pay a fee for risk insurance advice, with a further 16% unsure.

ClearView Managing Director Simon Swanson said it was critically important for the views and experiences of advisers to be accurately represented to regulators and policymakers to avoid unworkable legislation and poor outcomes.

“Advisers are often the ones most impacted by regulatory change but historically their voice has been drowned out by the large institutions and their industry bodies,” he said.

“It is clear from our research that advisers are extremely engaged and want to play an active role in shaping the policies that affect their businesses and livelihoods.”

Since the introduction of LIF, 30% of advisers often turn clients away and 42% of advisers sometimes turn clients away because their needs are too simple and it is impossible to profitability service them, under the current regulatory regime and reduced commission caps.

Less than a quarter of advisers believe that current commission caps (60% upfront and 20% ongoing) are appropriate while 73% of advisers believe they are inadequate.

The sudden, unexpected onslaught of COVID-19 also highlighted the problem with rigid two-year clawback provisions with 62% of advisers indicating that 1-10% of new risk insurance business had been subject to a clawback, due in part to clients suffering financial hardship linked to the pandemic.

The ClearView QAR submission is urging Treasury to simplify advice processes and avoid tinkering with life insurance commission rates to improve advice accessibility, affordability and quality.

“Consumers should be able to choose how they pay for life insurance advice, be that fees, commissions or a combination of both,” Mr Swanson said.

“LIF is not perfect but it is better than some of the alternatives that have been suggested including a complete ban of commissions. Further changes are unnecessary and would have many potential unintended consequences including fewer people seeking professional advice, fewer advisers providing life insurance advice and the financial cost of caring for the sick and injured falling back on families, society and the government,” he said.

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Releasing the group’s 2022 reform agenda, ClearView Managing Director Simon Swanson said it was crucial that regulatory settings facilitated easy access to financial advice and protection for consumers, citing recent local and global events as adding further pressures on household budgets.

“The devastating impact of COVID-19 and a spate of natural disasters, including the recent floods in NSW and Queensland, have heightened awareness of the importance and value of professional advice,” Mr Swanson said.

“However, this trend is occurring at a time when the cost of operating an advice business is significantly increasing and, in turn, pushing advice fees higher. It is important that our regulatory system is fit for purpose and does not add unnecessary complexity.”

ClearView is calling for a slimmed down Record of Advice (RoA) to replace the Statement of Advice (SoA) in situations where simple advice is being delivered, as well as the removal of the Safe Harbour steps, in line with the recommendation of the Financial Services Royal Commission.

The group’s reform agenda citied research that showed the cost of a SoA had risen more than 30 per cent in the past four years^[1] . ClearView has also reiterated its support for the life insurance commission model and welcomed the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority’s recent decision to defer five-year contract terms for income protection (IP) products for at least another two years.

“It is crucial for life insurance solutions, including IP insurance, to be stable, sustainable and simpler for consumers,” Mr Swanson said.

“ClearView welcomes the revised approach and we support APRA’s ongoing sustainability work. We recognise the importance of engaging with Treasury on issues about product rationalisation and quality of advice, and strongly advocate for engagement with financial adviser bodies, licensees and advisers.”

ClearView is committed to being a passionate advocate for public policy that underpins a strong, vibrant financial services industry, and will participate in the Quality of Advice Review, which submits its final report to government in December.

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[1] https://fpa.com.au/news/the-national-opportunity-that-is-financial-planning

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Prior to NAB, Ms Reece held senior risk and compliance roles at Westpac, ANZ and the Commonwealth Bank, including Group Head of Three Lines of Defence at Westpac and Head of Risk and Compliance, Superannuation, Investments, Platforms and Operations at BT Financial Group.

At ClearView, Ms Reece will lead the Group Risk and Compliance team, oversee risk management operations and continue building the group’s strong risk culture.

She will report to ClearView Managing Director, Simon Swanson.

“Effective risk management is the cornerstone of any organisation’s long term success and I am pleased to have Cloe on board to oversee ClearView’s risk management operations and ensure strong risk practices are embedded across the organisation,” Mr Swanson said.

“Over the past few years, ClearView has invested significantly in governance and risk management, and we remain committed to strengthening our risk management framework and achieving a stronger risk culture.”

Ms Reece said: “Initiatives to strengthen consumer protections and continuously improve systems and processes are front of mind at ClearView, and I look forward to supporting Simon and his team to help achieve the group’s strategic priorities and, most importantly, deliver great outcomes for customers.”

Ms Reece has over 25 years’ of industry experience. Her qualifications include a Masters of Business Administration, Bachelor of Commerce and Graduate Diploma of Applied Finance and Investment.

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The strategic partnership aims to deliver a range of innovative, fit-for-purpose wealth management and retirement income solutions to retail investors.

The partnership will combine ClearView’s local product development and distribution capabilities with Manulife Investment Management’s global expertise across public and private asset classes to create a high level of synergies.

According to ClearView Managing Director, Simon Swanson, the immediate focus will be to co-develop a range of retirement income solutions for members in the deaccumulation stage.

“ClearView is continuously looking for opportunities to serve our customers and advisers better. With a rapidly growing number of Australians in or nearing retirement, it is critical they have access to products that help them manage their drawdowns. We are excited to partner with one of the world’s leading asset managers to come up with solutions for Australia’s large pre-retiree and retiree market,” he said.

“In addition, we aim to leverage Manulife Investment Management’s broader capabilities in other areas to support our plans to implement liability-driven investments and increase exposure in Asian, ESG and private asset strategies.”

Manulife Investment Management’s Head of Wealth and Asset Management, Asia, Michael Dommermuth said: “Innovative solutions such as liability-driven investment and income-orientated strategies are playing an increasingly important role in aiding investors around the world to generate a stable income in retirement”.

“Similarly, in Australia, there is a clear need for effective retirement income solutions to help more people achieve their retirement goals.”

Peter Kim, Head of Institutional Business, Asia Pacific (ex-Japan), Manulife Investment Management added: “A key initiative for Manulife Investment Management’s APAC institutional business is to develop mutually-beneficial relationships with a network of partners in the region and we are excited to work closely with ClearView.”

As at 30 June, 2021, Australia’s managed funds industry had AUD4.31 trillion in assets under management^[1] .

The Australian Government’s recent Retirement Income Review found that over 70% of Australians over age 65 are still dependent on the Age Pension to support their lifestyle in retirement.

The 2020 Retirement Income Review Final Report highlighted the need for regulated, simple and safe retirement solutions, and identified products that can deliver an income stream and provide protection against market fluctuations and longevity risk as a way to help Australians maintain their standard of living in retirement.

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[1] Source: Australia Bureau of Statistics, https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/economy/finance/managed-funds-australia/latest-release

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After a year in development, ClearView has also released details of its new life insurance platform, the cornerstone of the group’s multi-year transformation program.

To be officially launched in October, with additional functionality to be delivered in stages, the platform will be the central point for advisers to access ClearChoice and engage with ClearView.

According to Simon Swanson, ClearView Managing Director, ClearChoice is a next generation life insurance product that addresses shortcomings in existing solutions and aims to meet the evolving needs of customers, advisers and regulators by retaining the features and benefits that matter most without the add-ons that increase cost but don’t deliver exceptional value.

“The market is resetting and ClearView, as an organisation, is resetting. We have redesigned our core life insurance product and we have also ramped up our investment in technology to help ensure that we continue to meet the evolving needs of advisers and customers,” he said.

“All retail life insurance companies are required to redesign and reprice their life insurance products to address the sustained underperformance of income protection, and ClearView has taken this opportunity to invest in our technology at the same time to ensure that our products are fit-for-purpose and we remain easy to do business with.”

ClearChoice Income Protection offers two base structures to choose from: IP and IP Flex. IP pays up to 60% of pre-disability income to age 65. With IP Flex, this increases to 70% of pre-disability income for the first two years of a claim. This can be extended to age 60 by selecting the Extended Income Support Option for those who need a higher level of ongoing cover.

Customers can also select the Booster option, which increases the benefit amount by an additional 20% for the first six months of a claim.

In total, ClearChoice Income Protection offers nine built-in benefits, four optional extras and a TPD lump sum option for no additional cost.

This highlights the product’s flexible design which provides greater support to customers when they need it the most while seeking to improve premium affordability and stability.

Nadine Gooderick, ClearView General Manager, Transformation said the October launch of ClearChoice on the group’s new life insurance platform would be a major milestone in ClearView’s transformation journey.

“The volume and pace of change in financial services in recent years has been unparalleled and to keep pace ClearView is committed to investing in systems and technology,” she said.

“The cornerstone of our transformation program is an integrated life insurance platform which includes a new adviser and customer portal, policy administration system, and underwriting rules engine.”

As part of the launch of ClearChoice on ClearView’s new life insurance platform, advisers will have access to educational content, explainer videos and client-facing tools to accelerate learning.

Mr Swanson said ClearView was ideally positioned to help advisers navigate the maze of new products set to hit the market.

“As more life companies release their products, the biggest changes will be to income protection insurance. We can expect to see transparent solutions with more moderate features, tighter terms and a greater focus on recovery to foster the product’s long-term sustainability,” he said.

“As a nimble organisation with strong financial advice relationships, ClearView is ideally positioned to respond quickly to developments and support advisers to understand the changes and what they mean for clients.”

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Gerard Kerr

COVID-19 is to financial advisers what end of financial year is to accountants; an invitation to talk to people about planning for the future, according to a new report that suggests public awareness of the importance of professional advice has increased 54% in the past 12 months.

The latest paper from ClearView, titled Fertile ground for an advice outbreak: How COVID-19 has changed the financial services landscape forever, claims that, despite the noise about falling adviser numbers, the advice industry is actually experiencing a renaissance, with 56% of advisers reporting higher client engagement in the past year, 42% reporting an increase in client referrals and a quarter stating that COVID-19 has made it is easier to talk to clients about taking out or renewing life insurance cover.

According to the paper’s co-author, Gerard Kerr, ClearView General Manager for Life Insurance, COVID-19 provided the jolt many industries and professions needed to disrupt their routine and force a rethink of their value proposition and how it is delivered.

“The COVID-19 experience has demonstrated that advice businesses need a proposition that is broad and flexible enough to meet their clients’ immediate needs as well as their long-term financial needs,” he said.

“In the past 12 to 18 months, we have seen advisers apply themselves to also help clients access relief measures, rent reductions and short-term life insurance premium waivers. As a result, many are riding a wave of positive consumer sentiment and increased demand.”

Based on proprietary research conducted by ClearView, 20% of advised clients are currently experiencing significant temporary financial stress, 14% are experiencing significant ongoing financial stress and 22% are dealing with mild stress.

ClearView Managing Director Simon Swanson said the data highlighted the importance of interpersonal and soft skills such as active listening, empathy and problem-solving to better support clients during difficult times.

“Higher education and training standards are critical for rebuilding trust in financial services and strengthening consumer protections, however, we need to foster essential soft skills too,” he said.

“In addition to ordinary challenges related to health, relationships and work, Australians have battled natural disasters including severe bushfires, drought and floods in the past couple of years, amidst a global pandemic.”

“During this time, advisers have listened to people talk at length about their fears and concerns, fielding calls around the clock from anxious, depressed and emotional clients.”

Mr Swanson cited the paper’s findings that 73% of clients would immediately contact their adviser if they had a severe injury or illness and 63% would immediately contact their adviser if they lost their job, as evidence of the strong, personal relationship advisers had with their clients.

“Since the onset of COVID-19, advisers have really stepped up to provide additional support to their clients and long after this pandemic has dissipated, more people will likely continue to seek advice,” he said.

Download the white paper: Fertile ground for an advice outbreak: How COVID-19 has changed the financial services landscape forever

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The PJC Life Insurance Report recommended “substantial reform to the way that APLs are currently constructed and used” including a review of shelf space fees and other conflicted remuneration, and the adoption of open APLs – a much higher standard than the FSC which only requires its members to offer a choice of at least three life insurers.

The PJC also observed that the configuration of many APLs potentially breached competition laws and urged the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to jointly investigate the use of limited APLs by some dealer groups to direct clients into in-house products.

ClearView Managing Director Simon Swanson commended the PJC for a thorough, client-centric report that reflected community standards and expectations.

“It’s clear that there’s strong widespread support for unrestricted APLs that give financial advisers the autonomy to use their knowledge and experience, and exercise their judgement, to recommend the best solution for clients from the 11 or so retail life insurers in the market,” he said.

“If the FSC does not act decisively to amend its standard in line with the PJC report, the government must intervene to foster competition, legislate choice and ensure the best interests of clients are served.”

Mr Swanson also welcomed recommendations to improve disclosure and transparency in Group life insurance including a review of all payments, including any ‘soft dollar’ benefits, between life insurers and trustees and any related party in connection with the provision of default insurance to MySuper members.

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Jeffrey Scott

Listed financial services company ClearView Wealth Limited (ASX: CVW) has appointed former BT Financial Group Senior Manager Jeffrey Scott as Head of Product to drive the ongoing development of life insurance and wealth management solutions for financial advisers.

Mr Scott, formerly Senior Product Development Manager at BT, will also oversee the delivery of a new intuitive online quote and application engine which will simplify and streamline the e-application process and help increase efficiencies in advice practices.

Former Head of Product Renee Hancock has taken on the newly-created role of Head of Research and Development.

Mr Scott will report to ClearView Chief Actuary and Risk Officer Greg Martin. Ms Hancock will report to ClearView General Manager of Distribution Chris Blaxland-Walker.

In her new role, Ms Hancock will support the distribution team to continue growing sales, improving customer retention and expanding relationships with the IFA community.

Mr Blaxland-Walker said ClearView was focused on giving advisers access to quality products and the right technology to help them build thriving sustainable businesses. “Given all the regulatory and structural changes advisers are grappling with, it’s imperative that we’re easy to do business with, understand their changing needs and deliver practical solutions,”
he said.

ClearView Managing Director Simon Swanson said the appointments positioned ClearView strongly for continued growth at an important time for the group, following the addition of Sony Life to the ClearView register as a strategic shareholder in October.

ClearView and Sony Life also recently entered a mutually-beneficial Cooperation Agreement to share information and increase their co-ordination to drive efficiency and growth across both organisations.

Under the Cooperation Agreement, ClearView and Sony Life will leverage each other’s knowledge and skills to continue developing both businesses.

“We’re excited about working in cooperation with Sony Life to propel ClearView forward,” Mr Swanson said.

“This collaboration will see ClearView benefit from Sony Life’s substantial expertise in product development, distribution and marketing.”

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