RSS FeedSovereign outlines premium increase Stuff.co.nz
Sovereign has set the benchmark by which life insurance premiums may be adjusted to mitigate tax changes that are scheduled to take effect on July 1.
The company today has announced a 15 per cent increase on premiums of new term life policies signed under the new regime.
The increase is lower than the 20 to 30 per cent estimated by the industry to cover some $75 million reductions in sector-wide profits yearly.
To balance the impact of the tax on stakeholders, Sovereign chief executive Charles Anderson says they decided to absorb some of the cost and decrease adviser commissions.
"We are better placed than most insurance providers to absorb the cost of the life tax changes.
"We have carefully considered how to do this while maintaining our competitiveness, stability and superior A+ claims rating," he says.
A transitional provision of the life tax legislation introduced two years ago protects most existing life insurance customers from the tax changes for up to five years.
[Weekly Wrap] So, what do you think?
This week’s wrap starts with a little promo. Good Returns, New Zealand’s number one news website for advisers, is continually evolving and developing. From today we have added a new function where you can comment on articles. To do this use the comments box at the end of each article.
This is a great way for readers to comment on issues when they arise and give feedback to issues.
Two stories this week which you may like to comment on are the Commerce Commission’s heads-up in its ING funds investigation and the Ministry of Economic Development’s discussion papers on a complaints scheme.
It seems to me that the Commerce Commission announcement that any decisions on whether ING’s frozen funds were mis-sold are months away, and that even if it did think there was mis-selling, action may not be taken giving investors a clear steer on how to vote.
The MED’s proposals on a complaints scheme, and news that many organisations are interested in setting up suitable schemes is one of those necessary discussions. Since we published the story earlier, we have added copies of the discussion documents. You can download both here.
It seems having a robust complaints scheme will be good for the industry. It was interesting to see the latest Financial Knowledge Survey which said that less than 20% of New Zealanders have sought advice.
A couple of our other news stories this week have been strongly investment focused. These include a report on hedging strategies used by New Zealand managers, and also changes to tax rules with international bond funds.
On the life insurance product front we have the latest stats from the Health Funds Association which paint a positive picture of the health insurance market and also Russell Hutchinson asks a question: What is trauma for?
Today we also report that the move to separate the Asia-Pacific life insurance assets of AIG into a new company have taken another step forward.
...Array
tower.co.nz Getting Business Insurance is vital for running a business in 2009; it can be rough enough without being hit by unexpected losses. So ...
Life Insurance Policies Nz- News
Premium rises all round despite IRD's tax tactics Stuff.co.nz![Premium rises all round despite IRD's tax tactics Stuff.co.nz]("http://nt0.ggpht.com/news/tbn/lLUistNc-uqfMM/6.jpg")
|
Tower announces first interim dividend in years Stuff.co.nz![Tower announces first interim dividend in years Stuff.co.nz]("http://nt3.ggpht.com/news/tbn/J1jn8Iz66f-lLM/6.jpg")
|
|
Tower to increase premiums Stuff.co.nz Tower to increase premiumsStuff.co.nzPremiums on new and existing life insurance covered by Tower will increase by 7 per cent starting the second half of this and more » |
Sovereign outlines premium increase Stuff.co.nz![Sovereign outlines premium increase Stuff.co.nz]("http://nt3.ggpht.com/news/tbn/0_au6qO5CSDXBM/6.jpg")
|
|
AMP hits an inflection point Sydney Morning Herald AMP hits an inflection pointSydney Morning HeraldIn the past, AMP has attempted to grow through life insurance expansion abroad (which ended in disaster) and domestic expansion into general insurance and more » |