BTFG claims value in retail over group
BT Financial Group (BTFG) has told financial planning dealer groups that group life insurance may no longer be an appropriate option for many of the clients they advise and has suggested a move to individual retail life utilising partial rollovers.
In a presentation which the company has been delivering to advisers since November, last year, BTFG is suggesting that the group life sector has been the one that has been struggling over recent years and noted the increase in disability claims and the increasing involvement in lawyers in pursuing disability claims issues.
The BTFG presentation argues that in circumstances were conventional group life insurance is in trouble, an opportunity exists for advisers and their clients in terms of individual retail insurance now being capable of being funded from any superannuation fund.
The presentation states that partial rollovers will be accepted from any complying superannuation fund with "a 15 per cent upfront Tax Rebate Benefit (discount) for all partial rollovers" and full cover applying during the rollover process.
Furthermore, it is suggesting that the insurer will facilitate the rollover on behalf of the adviser's client.
The BTFG presentation provides a case-study which seeks to compare its individual retail insurance model with that of a professional utilising group insurance within AustralianSuper and claims a range of benefits for the professional if his adviser were to persuade him to move including a guaranteed renewable cover level, own-occupation TPD and a benefit period to age 65 rather than two years.
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