Life/risk advisers have already begun the process of moving away from upfront commission towards hybrid commissions and fee for service, according to the latest research released by Investment Trends.
The research has also revealed that the Trowbridge process has forced advisers to diversify their revenue sources, with more of them embracing the provision of holistic advice as a means of offsetting any losses incurred as a result of the change to life/risk remuneration.
The Investment Trends research also points to advisers being more than willing to switch insurers, particularly if they believe those insurers have been underperforming.
The findings are contained in the Investment Trends 2015 Planner Risk Report, released today, which found that while upfront commissions represented a key component of financial planners’ revenue from insurance advice, comparisons to the 2014 results showed planners had already begun the gradual shift from upfront commissions to hybrid commissions and fee for service for insurance advice.
“Planners are typically already going through the process of phasing out upfront commissions and replacing it with hybrid commissions and fee for service,” according to Investment Trends senior analyst, King Loong Choi.
He said the implementation of capped upfront commissions, as per the Trowbridge recommendations, would see this process speed up, and challenge those not already doing so.
The research also pointed to a substantial level of insurer switching, with 35 per cent of planners saying they had stopped using at least one insurer in the last 12 months.
But it also noted that planners were adding insurers at a faster pace, with the typical planner now using 3.9 insurers each, up from 3.7 in 2014.
The research suggested there was a strong link between insurer satisfaction and switching behaviour, and that in these circumstances insurers looking to retain their relationships needed to ensure they were responsive to financial planners’ needs and kept them satisfied.
It said the level of insurer switching was likely to continue over the next 12 months, with one in five planners saying they were in the market for a new insurer relationship.
According to the Investment Trends research, AIA, BT Life and TAL posted strong gains in terms of primary market share in 2015, with the top four insurance providers by number of primary planner relationships being:
1. OnePath
2. AIA Australia
3. BT Life
4. TAL
