The regulatory regime in New Zealand is far easier to work with than in Australia, and financial advisers have a world of opportunity, says Bronwyn Kirwan, Fidelity Life’s recently appointed Chief Sales and Service Officer.

Having just returned from Sydney, where she was Head of digital insurance firm, Kirwan says the advice regime across the Ditch is too restrictive for advisers.

Despite this year’s changes and tightening of the regulatory landscape, Kirwan says the advice industry here is “…laden with opportunity”.

CLIP

That's Bronwyn Kirwan speaking in a Fidelity Life video.

Up to 60 financial advisers face being deregistered from the FSPR unless they update Companies Office with details of their dispute resolution scheme provider.

A total of 189 financial advisers were asked by Companies Office to update details by 17 August, and so far only 129 advisers have responded.

Financial Advisers are not deemed to be an essential service under the current alert level 4 lockdown, which is set to remain in place until 31 August in Auckland. But the FMA is pushing to change this.

The regulator says it is working towards having financial advice included in the next round of amendments or receiving a class exemption from the order.

New poll: With financial advice not deemed an essential service by the Government during the current level 4 lockdown, RiskinfoNZ wonders if this has affected your advice business. Cast your vote in our poll at riskinfonz.co.nz

Health insurer nib New Zealand’s annual premium revenue to June rose by almost 10% when compared with its 2020 figure. It recorded a total revenue of just over $277 million and a profit of almost $26 million.

The New Zealand firm’s full year result includes the release of a $9 million provision to cover-off an expected claims catch-up of postponed or delayed medical treatments due to government Covid-19 lockdowns.

Keep up to date with the latest news for financial advisers at riskinfonz.co.nz

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For week ending July 23, 2021.

The government has taken the first steps to establish a Consumer Data Right (CDR), a legal framework for companies to share their client’s personal information with competitors – so consumers can easily switch their business from one business to another.

However, based on submissions to MBIE, the idea does not have the universal support of insurance firms.

For example, Partners Life says a potential problem in developing a CDR system is the collection of legacy information from older systems – which could be expensive.

And Fidelity Life highlighted the difficulty of comparing the life insurance industry with banking and utility sectors saying life insurance should be excluded from any consumer data right system.

Australia deveoped a CDR system in 2019 which excludes life insurance.

The FMA has released its annual corporate plan outlining the organisation’s priorities for the next 12 months.

Its CEO Rob Everett says a review of insurance contract law is underway and that industry consultation on a draft bill is expected to take place later in 2021.

The proposed reform will give the FMA powers to monitor and enforce compliance with the new requirements.

Financial Advice NZ’s CEO Katrina Shanks says in a year of changing regulations and the impact of Covid it’s important to talk about the mental wellbeing of financial advisers.

A survey of financial advisers in Australia paints a grim picture of depression and low levels of wellbeing, and Shanks says the situation could be similar in New Zealand.

Her organisation has a peer support programme with 30 senior advisers volunteering their time. Shanks says mentoring and coaching can make a big difference in mitigating stress, coping with the workload, and approaching challenges with a different perspective.

Contact FANZ for more information.

Poll

With plenty of evidence appearing to show that many kiwis lack the skills to manage their money or have an appreciation for the value of insurance, some organisations are connecting directly with school students.

According to the results of our latest poll, it seems many of you agree it's something you'd like to do too.

In our latest poll, 50% of you say your advice business should develop relationships with local schools to help address financial literacy and underinsurance.

The poll closes on July 26.

A report by IBM says until recently insurers didn’t need to be overly concerned about how they were perceived by their customers – claiming the industry focused more on selling than providing good customer service.

Its report says social media platforms have helped insurance move away from being a product that is sold to one that is bought, and the right customer experience drives purchasing decisions.

Among IBM's recommendations is that insurers evolve from being a traditional coverage provider to trusted adviser.

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With industry speculation rife that Westpac is close to sealing a deal to offload its New Zealand life business – the big question is – who's in the running.

JP Morgan is handling the sale for Westpac and Riskinfo NZ has contacted New Zealand's top insurers to see what their interest is in obtaining the bank's Life book – said to be valued at around $500 million.

A new publication from Strateg - eye Compliance aims to show financial advisers that working under the new regulatory regime is more flexible than many may believe – while also revealing the firm’s checklist for reviewing compliance standards.

Its publication – What does compliant financial advice really look like? – is aimed at financial advisers, managers and owners of financial advice providers.

The Adviser Platform (TAP) is offering professional indemnity (PI) cover underwritten by international insurance firm QBE.

Single adviser pricing starts at $2,600 a year and includes a $10 million limit on any one claim.

The number of privacy breach notifications seen by the Privacy Commissioner nearly doubled in the six months to May.

The commissioner saw a 97% increase in privacy breach notifications since the new Privacy Act came into force on December 1, when compared to the six months prior to its introduction.

The most common category of privacy breaches were email errors, with emails containing sensitive information going to the wrong person.

Partners Life is helping school students understand the value of money and insurance by lending its technical expertise to help create a life and health insurance education module for financial education firm Banqer.

In addition to technical help, the insurance firm’s sponsorship pays for an additional 1,250 students to access the platform at no cost.

Partners Life Chief Marketing Officer Kris Ballantyne says Research shows that normalising lessons through education is an important step towards developing financial capability from a young age.

Look out for our monthly wrap of the month's biggest stories, it will be in your inbox before the weekend.

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