Resolution looks for Australian growth beyond AMP Life
AMP Life may have new owner but the brand will continue for the foreseeable future, as will the company’s interactions with life/risk advisers.
Barely a week into the company being owned and controlled by Resolution Life, AMP Life chief executive, Megan Beer, said that the existing branding would continue in the interests of continuity and maintaining confidence amongst the company’s clients and their advisers.
And while AMP Life will be administratively operating under Resolution Life Australia on the basis of it being an in-force business, Beer signalled that did not mean its Australian customer-base would not grow.
While declining to give specifics, Beer said the company was positioned for growth in Australia in circumstances where it had substantial resources and the scale to make investments.
“I can’t talk about what might be possible but if you look at the market in Australia and the challenges some insurers are facing then you see the opportunity for growth,” she said.
Such suggestions will further fuel recent speculation that the Westpac Life Insurance business may be on the Resolution Life shopping list.
However, where bedding down the AMP Life acquisition is concerned, the company signalled it would also be maintaining existing staffing and resources as it seeks to adjust to the changed ownership arrangements.
According to Beer, some of the earliest signs of AMP Life’s new ownership arrangements will be the launch of a new web site which is currently under development and significant investment in technological capability.
“These are exciting times,” she said.
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.
