Media Enquiries:
Zurich Financial Services Australia
Adam Siddique
Head of Public & External Affairs
New research released today by industry campaign Choice & Access to Life Insurance (CALI) warns that if governments and regulators fail to act, then underinsurance will continue to increase across parts of the community as access to advised life insurance becomes further limited.
Middle to low income earners, who the research shows already to be underinsured, are increasingly unable to access much-needed financial advice during key life moments like buying a home, starting a family, or transitioning to retirement.
The key findings of CALI’s Challenges confronting the Australian Life Insurance market white paper, which is based on independent research conducted by NMG Consulting and Colmar Brunton, reveal that:
The research was commissioned by CALI to better understand community expectations about life cover, trends in the Australian market, overseas experience, and the impacts of recent regulatory changes.
Zurich and OnePath are key contributors to CALI alongside a consortium of other life insurers, the AFA, FPA and FSC.
Justin Delaney, CEO of Zurich Life & Investments said, “The research shows that consumers have very reasonable expectations about insurance – that it’s there to help people get back on their feet and support their families to do the same. COVID-19 has helped us reset our values around security, family, simplicity, and affordability even further. Now is the right time for us to reset how we as an industry meet the expectations of consumers and the community in a modern context. This is exciting.”
The members of CALI are calling on the Australian Government and industry regulators to take the research findings into account when considering future policy decisions, to ensure the right life insurance and access to affordable financial advice is available to all Australians, now and in the future.
For more information, or to download the reports, go to https://www.australianpa.net.au/cali-campaign
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Zurich Financial Services Australia
Adam Siddique
Head of Public & External Affairs
Zurich Financial Services Australia is a life insurance, commercial insurance and investments specialist that has been participating in the Australian market since 1920. Since its acquisition of OnePath Life from ANZ in 2019, the company provides life insurance to more than 1.5 million Australian customers under both the Zurich and OnePath Life brands. Further information about Zurich Financial Services Australia is available at www.zurich.com.au.
Zurich Insurance Group (Zurich) is a leading multi-line insurer serving people and businesses in more than 200 countries and territories. Founded 150 years ago, Zurich is transforming insurance. In addition to providing insurance protection, Zurich is increasingly offering prevention services such as those that promote wellbeing and enhance climate resilience.
Reflecting its purpose to ‘create a brighter future together’, Zurich aspires to be one of the most responsible and impactful businesses in the world. It is targeting net-zero emissions by 2050 and has the highest-possible ESG rating from MSCI. In 2020, Zurich launched the Zurich Forest project to support reforestation and biodiversity restoration in Brazil.
The Group has about 60,000 employees and is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd (ZURN), is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange and has a level I American Depositary Receipt (ZURVY) program, which is traded over-the-counter on OTCQX. Further information is available at www.zurich.com.