Genesys announces preferred insurers
Genesys has created a new list of preferred insurers, following a formal tendering process, and announced that the six companies to be included are Asteron, Aviva, CommInsure, ING, MLC and Tower.
Genesys risk adviser Col Fullagar, who led the initiative, said: “At the moment, we have 12 or more carriers whose products our advisers can recommend. An insurer might try to get advisers to represent their product but the insurer may be inappropriate for our advisers, and we might not be the right type of group for them to approach. So there’s no focus, no form, and the consistency in delivery of service and support isn’t there.
“We decided it made sense to identify those providers which are most closely aligned to the services and support that we require, and who have a thorough understanding of the broker relationship. And not all companies have that.”
Those organisations that have not been named will still be eligible to have their products appear on the Genesys recommended list, based on “their merit or otherwise”, Fullagar said.
In addition, advisers will not be required to justify a recommendation when the product of a non-preferred insurer is put forward to a client.
However, the products of preferred insurers will be highlighted on the recommended list. “We don’t want to decrease the business we get from our non-preferred, we want to exponentially increase the business we get from the preferred,” Fullagar said.
Genesys has stated that the preferred insurers will be limited to 4-6 providers, and each will be reviewed on a yearly basis.
He added: “Price is nothing to do with preferred insurers — all of those hard factors are on the recommended list, that’s its job.
“This is about alignment, support services, direction, communication, relationship, trust. This is not about insurers buying shelf space. There is nothing in the preferred insurers which talks about product or new business remuneration.”
Recommended for you
Policy and advocacy specialist Benjamin Marshan has left the Council of Australian Life Insurers after less than a year, having joined in March from the Financial Planning Association of Australia.
The declining volume of risk advisers meant KPMG has found a rising lapse rate for insurance policies arranged by independent financial advisers, particularly in the TPD and death cover space.
The Life Insurance Code of Practice has transferred from the Financial Services Council to the Council of Australian Life Insurers.
The firm has announced it will no longer be writing new life insurance policies in the retail advised and corporate group insurance channels, citing a declining market and risk adviser numbers.
