AIA Australia has revealed it will continue to be proactive in establishing new partnerships for its SMSF Master Insurance Plan, following its alliance with independent licensee MyPlanner Australia initiated in April this year.
“We’re a partnering organisation so we provide our products to licensees, advisers and accountants, and we have about 50 partners currently that we work with who are using our SMSF Master Insurance Plan and to date we have about 2300 polices,” AIA Australia chief retail insurance officer Pina Sciarrone told selfmanagedsuper.
“The reason why these groups are partnering with us is because they see that there’s a real benefit in providing a very simple insurance solution to an SMSF trustee or member.
“We are looking for partners and we also have groups coming to us as well so it’s a combination but we’re definitely being proactive because the perception in the market for our product is very strong and we’re getting some traction in the market.”
AIA Australia and Australian Group Insurances launched the SMSF Master Insurance Plan in 2011.
Sciarrone revealed one of the attractive features of the offering was still its group insurance premium rates, which was traditionally only offered for large group plans.
“When you look at a retail insurance product, it has a particular retail insurance premium and what we’re doing with our SMSF insurance product is that even though the insurance policy is for a particular individual, that individual is getting the benefit of a group insurance rate,” she explained.
“In effect what we’re doing is offering group insurance rates to individuals so that’s the benefit of the plan, which has straight-through processing and very simplified underwriting.
“There’s also the ability to transfer existing cover from a super fund or retail insurer into the SMSF Master Insurance Plan. They can do that online.
“It’s a unique, easy proposition.”
Sciarrone said after surveying advisers, brokers and accountants, it was found the barrier to the low percentage of SMSFs owning life insurance was purely a lack of awareness.
“Two-thirds of the respondents were basically saying that’s why they didn’t have an insurance policy in their SMSF,” she said.
“So finding new partners is part of our strategy, as well as the education piece.”
