All articles by Verdict Staff

The state of income protection in Australia

Bessie Hassan, income protection expert at financial comparison website, finder.com.au reviews the state and features of Australia’s income protection market. She explains that income protection is gaining interest in Australia, but lack of awareness and education remains a challenge.

New rules on investment in securities for insurance companies issued in China

Chinese regulator tightens insurers’ stock market investments

The China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) has issued a circular stipulating guidelines for investment in securities by insurance companies.

Comment wire: InsurTech and customer service: lessons for the incumbents

At a time when insurers are thinking ahead and deciding what part they want to play in the InsurTech revolution, Thomas McCourtie, analyst, general insurance at Verdict Financial, discusses some of the highlights from a new report published by Verdict Financial titled Insurtech and Customer Services: Lessons for the Incumbents.

Great American Life expands annuity offerings

Great American Life has expanded its annuity offerings with the addition of two new indexed strategies that earn interest based on the performance of the iShares US Real Estate ETF and the S&P US Retiree Spending Index.

5 strategies to grow the group life assurance market in 2017

Paul Avis, marketing director at Canada Life Group Insurance, analyses why recent legislative changes and Government policies have created significant opportunities for the UK group life assurance (GLA) market. In Avis’s view, the days of easy pickings are past, but there is plenty out there for the bold and the innovative.

Mind the gap: Risk appetite revisited

Marcus Bowser, UK life sales and practice leader at Willis Towers Watson, explains how risk appetite frameworks that are linked to an insurer’s vision, strategy and operations provide a more solid platform for informed business decisions. If applied astutely, Bowser says there are numerous potential advantages for insurers in a well-founded and understood risk appetite framework.

Comment wire: The over-50s market – More than just a number

Danielle Cripps, an analyst in the general insurance team at Verdict Financial, explains that although the over-50s market is often treated as one segment, there is huge scope to capitalise upon its diversity by focusing less on age, and more on lifestage when targeting products and services.

5 life and health insurers that are embracing innovation

Mahendra Nambiar, vice president, global insurance solutions and innovation lead at Capgemini, highlights life insurance players that recognise the increasing importance of value-added services as a package with the core insurance product.

He also notes those insurers that are embracing innovation and exploring areas such as chatbots.

Comment wire: InsurTech trends that challenge traditional purchasing

Stewart McEwan, senior analyst, general insurance at Verdict Financial, explains that a feature of Startupbootcamp’s 2017 cohort is a challenge to the status quo of how insurance is purchased.