Hello

This week's Cover Notes has plenty of topical and slightly controversial news.

First up we have a piece on changes to commissions on life insurance products.

In addition to that we report on the latest Consumers Institute survey where it mystery shopped financial advisers.

As you would expect the institute don’t rate advisers very highly. We have updated the story today to include more information. Not surprisingly there are many comments from advisers. They are well worth a read.

To get straight to the comments click here

Insurance News

Consumer mystery shops advisers again
Consumer has mystery-shopped financial advisers again and says the results show that the level of financial advice being provided is "scandalously poor". More

The great commission shake-up
Commission rates from life companies have seen a significant shake-up in recent months and sparked calls for the industry to do more to bring in new clients, rather than encouraging the churn of existing business. More

Practice management: Success during a financial crisis
When financial crisis happens, it's not easy. My strategy is to go back to the basics, like when I first started in the business. I try to be positive myself. More

Mortgage fraud increases
Serious fraud has doubled in some areas since the recession, showing how hard times can pressure people to ‘cross the line'. More