Trustee misled policyholder, but coverage cut was fair
23 February 2026
A policyholder who did not understand that a total and permanent disability payment reduced his death cover has lost a dispute over the matter...
Life Insurance
Life sales lift Challenger H1 result
23 February 2026
Australian wealth manager Challenger says its life business achieved an 11% rise in sales to $5.1 billion in the December half, driven by record annuity transactions...
St Andrews enters NZ with Golden launch
23 February 2026
St Andrew’s Insurance Group has started offering life products in New Zealand, with the launch of Golden Insurance...
Acenda recruits ex-bank exec for culture role
23 February 2026
Acenda says former Westpac executive Ross Miller joined last week as group chief people and culture officer...
AFCA backs regulator-approved, enforceable code
16 February 2026
A life insurance code that is approved by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission will send a “powerful signal” to consumers and key stakeholders, the financial services ombudsman says...
Insured falls short of ‘high bar’ in TPD battle
16 February 2026
A concussion victim has been denied a total and permanent disability benefit after the industry ombudsman found he did not meet his insurance policy’s terms...
Noble Oak, Nib launch distribution tie-up
16 February 2026
Direct life insurer Noble Oak has started offering products under a distribution partnership with health group Nib Holdings...
Acenda moves into retirement income business
16 February 2026
Acenda Life has expanded into the retirement market with the launch today of its Lifestream guaranteed income product...
Court wipes out AFCA ruling in TPD tussle
09 February 2026
The Federal Court has overturned an ombudsman’s decision on the date of disablement for calculating a woman’s TPD payment, finding in favour of the insurer...
Rights advocates, researcher flag flaws in genetic test ban
09 February 2026
The Australian Human Rights Commission remains concerned about several aspects of the proposed ban on using genetic test results in life underwriting...
Advisers call for recovery ‘friend’ to aid compensation scheme
09 February 2026
A federally funded recovery program should be created to make the Compensation Scheme of Last Resort more sustainable, financial advisers say...
Insurer told to restore cover after cancellation mix-up
09 February 2026
A man who cancelled his income protection insurance without realising he would also end his critical illness cover has won a battle to have the policy reinstated...
Advisers urge senators to ‘carefully consider’ genetic test ban
02 February 2026
Financial advisers say they still have doubts about proposed laws banning the use of genetic test results in life underwriting...
Insurer wrong to reject stroke survivor, ombudsman says
02 February 2026
An insurer’s interpretation of its policy did not align with medical evidence when it refused to pay a crisis recovery benefit, the financial services ombudsman has ruled...
Acenda ‘consulting with our people’ on restructure
02 February 2026
Acenda says it is “aligning” its business and expects to have a new structure in place by April...
‘New chapter’ for AIA group business
02 February 2026
AIA has made key appointments and structural changes to its group insurance team...
Code of practice ‘adds to consumer woes’
02 February 2026
Consumer advocates say the life industry code is “actively contributing” to problems facing policyholders and fails to meet community expectations...
Pacific Life Re appoints underwriting chief
02 February 2026
Pacific Life Re says Jia Yi Tan has joined as global chief underwriting and claims officer, based in Singapore...
NZ advisers open annual awards
02 February 2026
Nominations have opened for this year’s Financial Advice New Zealand Awards...
Advisers warn of ‘existential’ threat from CSLR charges
15 December 2025
Financial Advice Association Australia fears members may pay more to cover the Compensation Scheme of Last Resort’s projected funding shortfall in 2026-27...