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One of the big unknowns about adviser regulation is whether insurance products will be category one or two products.

This week we talked to the Ministry of Economic Development about this question and it seems insurance could fall into category one. Read more about this story here.

Regulation was also a story on the home of Good Returns this week with another government-sponsored report calling for tougher rules around financial advisers.

We have two stories on that this week, one on the Capital Market Taskforce report and the second with industry reaction. Both these stories are well worth a read.

To round out the news this week we also have the latest AXA's View column where Mark Ennis talks about that highly topical issue: Non-disclosure.

BTW there have been plenty of comments to the story about Sovereign declining a claim. Read them here.

Insurance News

Officials still deciding insurance products category 1 or 2
The Ministry of Economic Development (MED) is currently weighing up how a raft of financial products, including life insurance contracts, will be categorised under the coming regime. More

Taskforce calls for even tougher regulation on financial advisers
The Capital Markets Development Taskforce fears the new Financial Advisers Act will fail unless it is accompanied by additional stringent measures to govern the ethical conduct and description of financial advisers. More

Everyone's an adviser, but not necessarily a financial planner
Industry supports some ideas from the Capital Markets Taskforce and agrees there should be more definition around the terms "independent" and "financial planner." More

AXA's View

It pays to get it right from the start
Withholding information is the single most common cause of life insurance claims being rejected by insurance companies. The chances of this unfortunate issue arising can be reduced if time is taken to explain to clients how important it is to disclose everything about their medical history or lifestyle choices, no matter how irrelevant it may seem. More