The timing of this article is brilliant. Just had a phone call literally 10 mins ago from a client who received a renewal statement for her Income Protection with one of the major insurers. I'll sum it up briefly - client said: I want to cancel this policy as I cannot afford a 20%+ increase which seems to occur each year I get my renewal documentation. The reality is that the middle class who need the insurance can't afford it and the wealthy clients who can afford it don't need it as much as the middle class. Advisers have switched off writing life insurance and the figures in the article confirm this. Even if commissions were put back up to 100%+, I don't believe this would make a difference as it is the affordability of obtaining and holding onto existing cover for the middle class which is the main issue not the number of advisers who are active in the Life insurance space. The middle class know they need the insurance however the life insurance industry has priced itself out of the reach of middle Australia. Every time I ask the insurers directly what's up with the insurance premium rises each year, they keep harping on about claims / the rate of returns of their internal cash pool. They have NO solution to the insane premium rises clients are getting hit with each year - NONE. I believe this is called a death loop which is used to describe the same mess the private health insurance industry is currently in. No new young clients coming in (as they can't afford to) to prop up the old and sick. As a result, those who hold the insurance keep paying more and more each year until they drop out altogether as they can't afford it (ie. my client I just spoke to). This is the issue, period. The Life insurance industry is not dying, it's dead - game over. The next few years will see more consolidation of existing players or exists altogether. Lucky for Aussies, we have a government with endless cash to fund all future long term sick or injured people........all the best peeps.