I see from their website that NRMA has stopped offering life insurance:
NRMA is part of the IAG group.
I cannot find an explanation for this change. Is it due to the risk from Covid-19?
1 Like
You might best contact them and ask, accepting it is their business decision. Underwriters such as IAG sell (underwrite) policies for many brand names for many type of insurance, but it could be so simple as IAG reduced their commissions or more likely IAG simply stopped underwriting (selling) life, as implied in their product list.
4 Likes
IAG group made an announcement a while back that they were exiting life insurance (from memory it wasn’t profitable due to competition in the sector). Any existing life insurance policy holders should have received a letter saying the policy would be transferred to another life insurer (in NZ they were transferred to AON).
6 Likes
Thanks - to both Phil and phb.
5 Likes
Suncorp’s Life Insurance arm transferred their policies out of Suncorp to another firm and now it has all become part of TAL. So I would not surprise me that NRMA and similar have had similar movement of these types of policies off their books. This may just be the way for them to get rid of poorly paying Risk holdings.
6 Likes
I cannot give you a direct answer but there are many reasons why an insurer might choose to enter or retreat from a given segment of the market. I would not jump to any conclusion about the reason why. Making the connection with COVID with no supporting evidence is a case of the post hoc fallacy, after this therefore because of this.
3 Likes
The original decision was made pre-Covid by IAG (around 2018/19 from memory). There should be a company announcement in the ASX if one has time to search
Edit: There has been internet rumours by antivaccination groups that a number of companies which provided life insurance ceased providing life insurance as they were worried about claims resulting from COVID vaccines (death or permanent disability). A number of life insurance companies which no longer offer life insurance for business reasons (low number of policies, not core business, unprofitable etc) came out in August 2021 refuting these claims.. Decisions in relation to ceasing to issue new life insurance policies were independent of the COVID pandemic/vaccinations as business decisions were made pre-Covid or the timing for no longer offering policies was purely coincidental with the pandemic/use of COVID vaccinations.
3 Likes
No, the NRMA website says they stopped offering life assurance in April 2021.
As I read this report about rocketing life assurance claims in the US I have to think NRMA saw this coming:
1 Like
