Striking the right balance with business expense cover
Getting the right balance between having a good product, strong relationships with financial advisers and quality service has been key to the success of Clearview's LifeSolutions Business Expense cover.
Clearview topped the Money Management/DEXX&R Adviser Choice Risk Business Overhead Products 2014 Award category, ahead of BT Financial Group's Business Overheads and Key Person Income and Macquarie Life's FutureWise Business Expenses options.
Clearview Head of Life Products, Renee Hancock said, "the reason we've been successful with our life solutions generally and business expenses specifically is we've got the balance right between having a good product, good service and good relationships with financial advisers."
"We've also continued to innovate in our product - for example, we now have hybrid premiums, we now have protected commissions," she said.
As a relatively recent entry into the life advice space, Hancock said Clearview also benefited from not having legacy issues.
BT Financial Group (BTFG) improved on its placing in this category securing Silver compared with last year's Bronze as a result of the roll out Key Person insurance designed to work with its Business Overhead and Income Protection policies.
BTFG Life Insurance Products, National Manager Scott Moffit said the product was the first of its kind in Australia and had attracted "massive amounts of interest with increasing take up and purchase by advisers".
"As a value proposition it has attracted new advisers to BTFG and we have positioned it with other policies to create comprehensive cover for risks faced by a small business or the business owner or a key person in the business that can be tailored according to their needs," Moffit said.
Focusing on the needs of advisers was also critical to the success of bronze award winner Macquarie Life's FutureWise Business Expenses cover.
Macquarie Life Head of Underwriting and Claims, Sally Philips, said the group's "approach to product development is driven by feedback from advisers about what their clients are looking for to meet their insurance needs".
AUTHOR
Nicholas O'Donoghue
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