After-tax reporting and benchmarking is finally gathering momentum. To John Nolan, it is actually an indictment on the industry, including himself, that the development has taken so long. GREG BRIGHT reports.
Life insurance in super: the next 10 years
Consolidation in the superannuation industry, enhanced member expectations, changes in society and more prudent regulation will change the group insurance industry for the good over the next ten years, according to the head of group life at Tower Australia, Andrew Boldeman. Speaking last month, Boldeman said he thought the value of insurance through super was becoming more widely appreciated. He remembered being heartened that as Jeremy Cooper’s Superannuation System Review progressed during the first half of 2010, the value of insurance in superannuation seemed to rise in the Panel’s estimations. “I think he made some initial statements questioning whether group cover was good value and appropriate in a superannuation context, but I think the industry was able to tell a convincing story.
Claims: an insurer’s moment of truth, says AIA
Damien Mu, the chief distribution and marketing officer of group AIA Australia, can’t say it often enough. “It’s all about claims. A policy can look great on paper, but the moment of truth comes when a customer lodges a claim and is expecting to be paid.” The executive thinks it is high time the group insurance industry worked together to produce a more streamlined way of processing claims. “In many cases, the event that’s given rise to the claim is pretty indisputable. It’s a death, say, or in the case of income protection, it’s something like a broken arm. It’s obvious that it’s happened, and the insurer is able to look to extensive medical history in terms of what the typical recovery time from the in injury will be,” Mu says. “In cases like that, do we really need to be going through an arduous assessment process?” Mu is confident that in 20 to 30 per cent of cases, a “fast track” procedure can be initiated, where the requirements for a death claim can be satisfied in as little as 24 to 48 hours, while claims related to basic fractures or breaks can be turned around in two to five days once initial claims forms and evidence are received.
AustralianSuper’s group revolution turns one
Australia’s group insurance market is bounding along like the global recession never happened, with record high premiums in force, two funds introducing jawdropping autoacceptance levels during 2010, and innovation becoming a feature of many new contracts. This trend, in addition to improvements in fund insurance structures and claims management, will be explored this month at the 2010 Superannuation Insurance Symposium, convened by AIST and Investment Magazine.
Group insurance in the fast lane
Australia’s group insurance market is bounding along like the global recession never happened, with record high premiums in force, two funds introducing jawdropping autoacceptance levels during 2010, and innovation becoming a feature of many new contracts. This trend, in addition to improvements in fund insurance structures and claims management, will be explored this month at the 2010 Superannuation Insurance Symposium, convened by AIST and Investment Magazine.
Long lives need much more than short-term plans
Super funds need to develop strategies to ensure that investment gains enjoyed in bull markets are not given back when the cycle turns, and lifecycle strategies can play a part. Investors are exploring them as an opportunity to protect and to retain members, particularly those on the cusp of retirement or in the early decumulation phase. SIMON MUMME and PHILIPPA YELLAND report on a sophisticated roundtable discussion between superannuation fund CIOs, actuaries and retail platforms.
Why governments should sell longevity bonds
The purpose of a pension plan is to hedge longevity risk, but many funds have not adequately offset this simple fact of demography. AMANDA WHITE reports.
Funds seed for the future
Two major pension funds from the Netherlands and Canada – ABP and OMERS – have seeded an innovation and technology program to invest in their domestic knowledge economies. Called inkef capital, it has already begun searching for the success stories of the future. SIMON MUMME reports.
Geek fights – the Cliff Asness way of vigilantism
In some ways, Cliff Asness is a classic hedge fund manager. He’s got the money, works in Connecticut and reveals the mechanics and performance of his flagship absolute return fund only to investors. But in other ways, the boss of AQR Capital Management is an agitator for change. His latest campaign – in a career claiming many intellectual victories to date – is to demystify the sources of return within hedge funds. This is the type of battle that has defined AQR’s culture, its investment ideas and competitiveness. But there’s a deeper story here. SIMON MUMME reports. 
