Life/risk advisers believe the major insurers are likely to see most growth in sales and business volumes from their direct channels over the next 12 months.
Money Management’s 2016 Life/Risk Overview Survey, conducted during September and early October, has revealed that advisers believe this growth in direct sales by insurers will come at the cost of advised business.
The findings of the survey will be debated at tomorrow’s Money Management Life/Risk Breakfast in Sydney.
Asked whether they saw profits increasing from particular categories over the next 12 months, 75 per cent of respondents nominated direct life/risk sales as increasing, compared to just 15 per cent for advised life/risk sales.
Where business volumes were concerned, the picture was even starker with 78 per cent of respondents pointing to increased volumes with respect to direct life/risk compared to just 12 per cent for advised life/risk.
Hardly surprisingly, when asked what would happen to adviser numbers over the next 12 months, 95 per cent of respondents pointed to the likelihood of decline.
