New life company looking for adviser partners

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Partners Life has started presenting its life insurance products to advisers and says that its proposition currently is based on having the best products rather than innovation or commission levels.

Friday, April 1st 2011, 5:00AM 1 Comment

Managing director Naomi Ballantyne says Partners Life has reviewed competitors' life insurance products and has tried to make new ones which have the best features from all its competitors.

She says they are aiming for "product coverage rather than pricing".

"We are not trying to be the cheapest but can't be the most expensive."

It will offer life, disability, trauma, income protection and medical insurance.

While Partners Life's products have not yet been researched or rated, Ballantyne expects them to come out in the top of all the reviews.

If the don't then she will be asking some tough questions and researchers will be "taken to task".

Ballantyne says Partners Life won't be offering the highest commissions to advisers. Rather its payment structure, which isn't disclosed, will be "there or thereabouts".

However Partners Life is offering a "shadow share" scheme where advisers earn shadow shares based on the volume and persistency of business they write.

Her earlier businesses, Sovereign and Club Life (now OnePath) offered similar schemes. Advisers who participate stand to earn more income at some point in the future.

Ballantyne described the shadow shares as a "deferred commission" scheme and over time those who participate will see 40-50% of their commission come through the scheme.

Meanwhile policyholders will start to receive premium discounts, of between one and 10%, after three years.

Partners Life has a reinsurance agreement with Paris-based SCOR which bought Gerling. Ballantyne says Partners Life is providing a way for the reinsurer to get back into the Australian and New Zealand markets.

Partners Life raised $6.5 million with its initial offer. Management own around 60% of the company and the balance is with 28 individual investors. She says these are mainly professional investors as opposed to advisers.

Partners Life may make a further capital raising in the future.

The company will start accepting business from April 26.

Dates for the Roadshow can be found in the diary here.

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