Life Insurance

When it comes to personal protection, Australians are making a worrying return to a ‘she’ll be right’ approach, with fewer than one in five checking their levels of personal insurance. BT’s Australian Financial Health Index1 (AFHI) found that overall, the nation’s financial wellbeing has remained relatively stable. However after positive shifts in attitudes towards insurance in 2012-2013, the more recent 2014 AFHI found an uplift in levels of confusion and indifference in regards to personal protection. See the infographic here. We’re more likely to insure our car than ourselves As a guide to how personal insurances often play second fiddle to other types of cover, 76% of Australians claim to insure their car, yet only 33% also claim to have life cover and just one in five (20%) claim to have income protection insurance. Indeed, tangible assets are typically seen as more worthy of...

Women aged over 45 are nearly twice as likely to be disabled from sickness as men, new research has shown. Produced by the Financial Services Council (FSC) and KPMG Australia, the research looked at the likelihood of disability insurance claims across a range of client demographics. In particular, the report found that 45 year old females are 94% more likely to make a claim due to sickness than their male counterparts, but 22% less likely to make a claim due to accident than males in white collar occupations. Other key findings from the research include: A person who has held a policy for 10 years or more is 50% more likely to make a claim than a person who has held a policy for less than 1 year Male white collar smokers are 50% more likely to claim due to sickness than male white...

There are many ways to build wealth, but what about protecting it? I’m often struck by how strongly Australians focus on the wealth-building side of their goals: they understand mortgages, they know about starting a business and they understand that regular contributions to super is a good idea. But look closer at these wealth-building ideas: they all require that you feed them with your cash or your hard work, and sometimes both. It’s actually you and your income-generation that builds wealth. So what would happen if that capacity was taken away or reduced? The way to protect income-generation is through an insurance called ‘life products’. They insure you and your earning capacity, and every Australian with debts and children should investigate where these products could fit in their financial plans. The obvious one is life insurance which pays a nominated benefit to your next...

[blue]Read this article and more at Dynamic Business[/blue] Australia is one of the most underinsured nations in the developed world in terms of Personal Insurance, and sadly, many small business owners are not much better when it comes to insuring themselves and their businesses. Insurance is all about getting the right balance. “You don’t want to under-insure, which occurs when the amount covered by a policy is less than the value of what’s being insured, but over-insuring is a waste of money and puts unnecessary pressure on your funds. This is why it is helpful to involve an independent broker or consultant who can help you secure the right insurance at the best price,” says Rener Lao, CEO of AccountsTeam. So where do you start?  First, you need to be able to distinguish between which insurances are required by law, which ones are...

The Aqua Wealth team were delighted at being announced the winners of Securitor's National Practice of the Year award for 2013. This fantastic news comes just a few weeks after our team was awarded the Practice of the Year award for the region of Victoria and we are both proud and humbled at being recognised amongst the best of the best of our peers within the Securitor group. We are very proud of this achievement and what we have been able to deliver to our clients in such a short period. We look forward to building on this success and continuing to deliver on our promise on providing quality advice solutions to our clients. Thank you once again to all of our business partners, friends and family for your continued support. Without you we would not be in this position! ...

[dropcaps]T[/dropcaps]he failure of advice providers to consider the insurance needs of investors is leading to poor outcomes in the self-managed superannuation sector, according to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). The regulator has released a report into the quality of advice provided by both accountants and financial advisers to SMSF trustees. The report summarises the findings of the ASIC SMSF taskforce, which reviewed over 100 pieces of advice provided to investors. [pullquote-left]… only a small number of investors received an insurance recommendation before setting up an SMSF[/pullquote-left] While the majority of the advice was rated ‘adequate’, ASIC found that just under 30% of the personal advice provided was of poor quality, resulting in the investor being worse off after having received the advice. One of the problem areas leading to poor advice outcomes, according to ASIC, was the absence or inadequacy of...

Have you made a future plan for your family in the event of your passing? No? You’re not alone. According to a new survey conducted by life insurance comparison site LifeInsuranceFinder.com.au, 32.5 percent of Australians have not considered putting together a financial plan for their family in the event of their death. Surprisingly, it takes the shocking loss of a family member or friend before one in two people considers taking out life insurance cover. Major life events also play a significant role. For example, 23.16 percent of Australians would be influenced by marriage or the birth of their first child. Interestingly, 35.59 percent of respondents were more likely to purchase life insurance when taking out a new mortgage than when having a child. When should you consider taking out cover? Here are some suggestions from Fred Schebesta, the publisher of the comparison website: Getting married...

Did you know? Employees covered by workers’ compensation insurance may question the need for income protection. However, from July 2009 to June 2010, only 5.3% of people suffered a work-related injury or illness and less than 36% of these people received financial assistance through workers’ compensation*. Plus with recent changes to workers’ compensation legislation, particularly in NSW where there is unlikely to be any cover out of working hours including the journey to and from work, educating clients on the need for income protection may be more important than ever. Only 31% of Australians have income protection insurance^.  In line with recent media coverage, now is the perfect time to educate potential clients on the differences between these covers and the very real need to protect their most valuable asset – their income. Speak to one of our experienced financial advisers today to ensure that...

Only 45% of the middle class would seek financial advice for complex decisions, yet two-thirds have made at least one “really bad financial decision” – costing them thousands. These are the findings of a recent study from our friends in the USA at the Consumer Federation of America. The federation’s report found that most middle class respondents rate their ability as “excellent” or “good” to make decisions on a wide variety of financial issues, while 63% rated highly their ability to save for retirement, and 66% rated highly their ability to purchase life insurance (66%). Additionally, a “surprisingly high” percentage of respondents said they “wouldn’t seek any information or advice, and just make a decision,” said the report. “The percentages who said they would use information and advice from a financial professional tended to be higher for the relatively complex decisions about saving and...

Check the policy before buying any insurance, writes Lesley Parker. Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/money/planning/price-isnt-everything-20120821-24j39.html#ixzz24teIWQna The huge growth in ''direct'' selling of insurance, and the high-rotation  television advertising allied with that, has attracted the attention of  financial services regulators. They are keeping an eye on both the quality of the products being sold and  the depth of information consumers are getting. ''Direct life insurance business has been growing at a high rate and is now a  significant proportion of the retail market,'' an executive group member of the  Australian Prudential Regulation Authority,  Ian Laughlin, told a conference  recently. ''We are concerned that the quality of the products and of the business being  written may be poor in some cases. We see examples of expensive products and  high [policy] discontinuance rates.'' The commissioner of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission  (ASIC), Peter Kell, says there's nothing intrinsically wrong...