OnePath’s holistic approach to insurance, spanning a range of cover that aims to deliver flexible solutions for advisers and their clients through each life stage, has proven successful this year, as well as back in 2015.
In order to leverage off its position, ANZ Wealth head of life insurance Gerard Kerr says the group will focus on ways to ensure advisers continue to be attracted to its offering.
“Our focus is to continue enhancing our holistic proposition: we improve the product, enhance the service and then support the technology,” Kerr reveals.
“Through these three aligned priorities, we can provide consistent service, assist advisers to deliver business efficiencies and, importantly, make it easier for them to recommend the best solution for their clients’ individual needs.”
Kerr explains adviser feedback has been valuable in ensuring OnePath enhances its products and services according to their needs and the needs of their clients.
“Listening, consulting and responding to feedback ensures we tailor each enhancement to be authentic and fit for purpose,” he says.
“I think this collaboration and responsiveness has encouraged advisers to vote for us again this year.”
He says advisers are demanding more choice in order to provide tailored solutions to their clients.
“Additionally, they want pricing stability as affordability continues to be a challenge for their clients’ household budgets,” he notes.
“We have set ourselves the task of continually listening, acting and delivering on feedback received from BDMs (business development managers), our contact centres, claims and underwriting. This feedback provides valuable insights on what we are doing well and where we can improve.”
OnePath also holds biannual roundtables with key advisers for feedback on its ideas and priorities, as well as to identify new ideas and suggestions.
Commenting on its focuses over the past 12 to 18 months, Kerr reveals his team has invested a great deal in product, technology and service.
“We believe these elements are important to our customers, and one example of this is our recently launched Income Secure Essentials and Severity Trauma covers, which provide increased choice and accessibility for advisers and their clients,” he says.
In addition, the group has a dedicated program of deliverables it has been rolling out over the period, which has been received positively by advisers.
“This, we believe, is largely because they were consulted from the initial planning stages of each initiative,” Kerr says.
“We have more to do, with further enhancements planned over the rest of the year to continue improving our adviser and customer experience.
“As head of life insurance, I have a team of approximately 50 staff who support our retail, direct and group lines of business, as well as reinsurance and actuarial.
“We appreciate clients have individual preferences in how they wish to obtain their valuable life insurance solutions – across either advised, direct or group life channels. We therefore deliver a strong proposition in each market.”
He stresses winning the award is an important accolade for OnePath and valuable recognition for its hard-working team.
“It is evidence that our priorities and initiatives are aligned with those of our advisers and that we are continuing to meet their needs and market expectations,” he says.
“This achievement is the result of a collective effort across our entire business to enhance all elements of our products and service so that we continue to provide advisers and their clients with a market-leading experience.”
