Asteron makes tweaks to help customers

Graham Hill, executive manager of life distribution, said the recent focus on financial services conduct from regulators on both sides of the Tasman – and industry bodies such as the Financial Services Council and Insurance Council of New Zealand - had given insights into areas where the insurer could do more to support customers.

“One of those areas is educating them about the risks around non-disclosure and replacement business,” he said.

“When we identify areas where we can make changes that are good for our customers, we are taking steps to address them, so we have made adjustments to our application and welcome pack materials. We believe that these changes will support customers to have good conversations with advisers when they are considering whether to switch insurance providers, and will contribute to the overall financial wellbeing of our customers.”

The welcome packs for new policies have been changed to include information about the risks of replacing life insurance policies to help clients understand the implications of any decisions they made.