Listed wealth manager Count Financial Limited has struck a deal with risk insurance specialist Risk-Easy to intensify insurance sales across the group.
Following a tender process, Count will outsource the work involved in selling life and risk insurance policies to Risk-Easy, including statements of advice (SOA), and split the client fees three ways between Count, its members and the Melbourne-based firm.
The new service is part of Count’s 12-month strategy to grow its wealth protection side of the business and follows partnerships with Macquarie Group and BT Financial Group’s new life insurance platforms.
The decision comes as Australia is gripped by an underinsurance crisis and dealer groups struggle with long-lead times, complex definitions and the high costs of selling the products under the Financial Services Reform Act.
“We don’t write as much risk as we should, which isn’t unusual,” Count company secretary Rachel Griffith said.
“We’re basically looking at addressing that situation.”
Twenty-three Count firms began piloting the service midway through last year and around 400 member firms now have the option to outsource the work.
“We’re not expecting to get 400 businesses – some will do it themselves, some will do it in super through a platform and some won’t do it all,” Risk-Easy training and relationship consultant Tim Veal said.
“It’s an untapped market. [Dealer groups] are comfortable with writing risk but they don’t want to do it,” he said.
Veal said the Risk-Easy model allows advisers to spend a maximum of one hour per client on risk and it takes two-and-a-half months to complete a policy compared with the industry average of six months.
Around 700 financial planners and 105 financial services groups use the service.
