New initiative sees travel brokers retain as insurance advisers

Partnership between a large travel firm, a financial technology business and MSD could bring nearly 200 new advisers into the industry.

Monday, December 7th 2020, 11:38AM

In a unique proposition, the new online advisory platform (Ratebroker) is offering travel advisers working through Travel Managers Group (TMG, part of Flight Centre) the chance to retrain as insurance advisers.

Spokesperson Michael Moran says that these travel advisers are uniquely positioned to sell insurance (including life and health, mortgage protection, and income protection insurance) alongside their travel offerings.

“When they are arranging itineraries for clients, it fits that they ask them if they are covered for insurance as well,” he says.

While the boarders are closed, this also means that travel advisers are given the opportunity to make a living until restrictions ease.

Moran says that 180 travel advisers are registered with TMG, and all of them are eligible for retraining. Ministry of Social Development has agreed to fund training for 100 of these advisers, with the extra 80 being paid for by Ratebroker (licensed under Foundation Advice Limited). He says that a “couple of dozen” have registered thus far.

“The funding will include part-payment of the training and administration costs, and a wage subsidy for 12 weeks.”

The training will meet all the new compliance standards for financial advisers.

“I was a former partner at Deloitte, and as such, I am heavily focussed on process compliance,” says Moran.

Each of the agents has their own contact book that is owned by them, which they can use to source leads. This, combined with the lead-generating technology developed for Ratebroker, is likely to yield “hundreds of thousands of leads,” says Moran.

Clients will only be able to receive advice once the required training and mentoring is completed, and each adviser will be offered a one-year, fixed-term contract with Ratebroker.

One of the key positives around this partnership is the large number of female advisers it will bring into the insurance space. The travel industry has a huge representation of women, and this crossover could translate to a significant boost in female insurance advisers.

The FMA says, in a statement, “it is important that consumers can access the advice and help they need, and can readily access a financial adviser of their choice. To that end, a growing diversity of talent within the advice sector is encouraging."

"We hold a positive view on the long-term success of the financial advice business being an industry that offers a great career choice for people."

Tags: Insurance Advisers Ratebroker