MLC’s Insurance Income Protection Platinum has gained the highest praise from advisers in Money Management’s Adviser Choice award to win in the personal super risk disability income product category.
MLC said recent changes to the product included increasing flexibility in the underwriting process, improvements to its quoting tool and lowering the cost of splitting benefits between super and non-super environments.
The company said it always sought to innovate and improve cover for its clients.
“Our upgrade philosophy means we ensure that our clients always have the best and latest cover on offer,” it said.
Macquarie Life’s FutureWise Disability Income product also received high praise from advisers in 2013, placing second in this category.
Macquarie Life head of underwriting and claims Sally Phillips said a focus on tailoring insurance to meet members’ different age demographics may have factored into its nomination.
“With a growing ageing population which is likely to stay in the workforce for longer, disability income protection needs to adapt to the changing demographics,” she said, adding that Macquarie Life had changed its member segmentation to reflect Australia’s changed social landscape.
CommInsure’s Income Care took out bronze in this year’s awards, with executive manager, business growth services Jeff Scott citing the product’s pricing and unique features as integral in its recognition.
“It has that flexibility, so advisers under the new FOFA [Future of Financial Advice] reforms can do the best interest duty for their clients,” he said.
The benefits, features and definitions for individual products were applied across risk benefits offered by 115 personal super and public offer industry funds as well as inside super versions of individual products.
DEXX&R said that the three winning products included the cost of advice within their premium structure.
However the enhanced features and definitions that they offered helped offset the price advantage of some group-based salary continuance products, as price was not the main factor in the category.
Additionally, although most group-based products do not attract advice fees and often offer lower premiums, recent increases in industry funds had closed the gap between the premiums charged by some industry funds and premiums for lower cost individual risk products, DEXX&R said.
