Putting the ‘life’ into life insurance

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Putting the ‘life’ into life insurance Say what you like about retail life insurance, it does tend to come up with innovations that the group side aspires to. So Unbalanced wonders whether any group BDM is willing to put themselves out there as far as Jordan Hawke, the general manager of Asteron, did in launching the insurer’s new customer wellness initiative last month. Dubbed Asteron Life, the first phase of the program will see the more portly policyholders challenged to improve their health, in return for a reduction of their premium loading. Hawke volunteered himself as the Asteron Life guinea pig, and went to the doctor’s to get a series of health measures, including for body-mass index (BMI), cholesterol levels and the presence of sugars implicated in Type 2 diabetes.

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Putting the ‘life’ into life insurance

Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4

Putting the ‘life’ into life insurance Say what you like about retail life insurance, it does tend to come up with innovations that the group side aspires to. So Unbalanced wonders whether any group BDM is willing to put themselves out there as far as Jordan Hawke, the general manager of Asteron, did in launching the insurer’s new customer wellness initiative last month. Dubbed Asteron Life, the first phase of the program will see the more portly policyholders challenged to improve their health, in return for a reduction of their premium loading. Hawke volunteered himself as the Asteron Life guinea pig, and went to the doctor’s to get a series of health measures, including for body-mass index (BMI), cholesterol levels and the presence of sugars implicated in Type 2 diabetes.

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Dear Jeremy: make profit-to-members the default

The Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees has submitted to the Cooper Review that all default superannuation funds should be managed under the not-for-profit governance model. AIST CEO, FIONA REYNOLDS, here argues why that should be the case, acknowledging a few areas where the model itself could be improved along the way.

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Dear Jeremy: make profit-to-members the default

The Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees has submitted to the Cooper Review that all default superannuation funds should be managed under the not-for-profit governance model. AIST CEO, FIONA REYNOLDS, here argues why that should be the case, acknowledging a few areas where the model itself could be improved along the way.

Read more

Infrastructure allocations below 3 per cent “meaningless”

While infrastructure as an asset class has been embraced by pension funds in Europe and Australia alike, in the US it is still a nascent concept. The difference is largely down to a lack of privatisation in the US, where infrastructure historically has been provided by local and state government. In North America, funds such as the C$87.4 billion Ontario Teachers Pension Plan (OTPP) and Canada Pension Plan have looked abroad for investment opportunities in infrastructure, with the OTPP recently acquiring an additional 35.5 per cent stake in UK-based Bristol International Airport in a deal with Macquarie Airports. The fund had acquired a 14.5 per cent stake in 2002, the September purchase lifting its holding in BIA to 50 per cent.

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Infrastructure allocations below 3 per cent “meaningless”

While infrastructure as an asset class has been embraced by pension funds in Europe and Australia alike, in the US it is still a nascent concept. The difference is largely down to a lack of privatisation in the US, where infrastructure historically has been provided by local and state government. In North America, funds such as the C$87.4 billion Ontario Teachers Pension Plan (OTPP) and Canada Pension Plan have looked abroad for investment opportunities in infrastructure, with the OTPP recently acquiring an additional 35.5 per cent stake in UK-based Bristol International Airport in a deal with Macquarie Airports. The fund had acquired a 14.5 per cent stake in 2002, the September purchase lifting its holding in BIA to 50 per cent.

Read more