Buy Insurance Online Australia

More than half of all Australians would buy life insurance online and bypass traditional sales agents such as financial advisers – a trend that looks set to gain momentum as technology improves.

Life insurer Noble Oak found 55 per cent of 1100 survey respondents would buy complex life insurance policies over the internet, even though online products currently represent just 5 per cent of total sales.

"Life insurance seems to be a laggard compared to other financial services products, but it's inevitable buying behaviour will quickly change," Noble Oak chief executive Anthony Brown said.

"Life insurance will be bought online far more often within the next five years. The number of people purchasing general insurance products online increased more than tenfold from about 2008 to 2013," he said. "There is no reason why this trend won't be replicated with life insurance."

Nearly seven out of 10 Australians say they would be confident in purchasing life and income protection cover online without a financial adviser, despite the policies' complexities.

Australian consumer trust in financial advisers has suffered blows in recent years following a series of scandals to plague the sector.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia was embroiled in a financial planning scandal after thousands of clients lost hundreds of millions in retirement savings after receiving inappropriate financial advice.

Last year, Macquarie Group paid millions to clients of its financial planning division, after the Australian Securities and Investments Commission found a string of compliance failures including lax advice.

More recently, life insurers have come under the spotlight after CommInsure, one of the largest insurer's in the country, denied claims and adopted unethical policies.

Mr Brown said burgeoning interest in online policies coincides with the drop in confidence, and a rise in digital knowledge among consumers. Younger Australians are naturally more web-savvy than previous generations and more independent, he said.

"I'm sure some of the recent negative publicity around financial advisers has accelerated this trend, but most of the change is simply an evolution in buying behaviour," Mr Brown said.

"While a majority of customers previously outsourced their financial affairs, we are moving to a new state where people are taking more control and insourcing these decisions.  The growth in SMSFs [self-managed super funds] illustrates this trend."

Australians are tightening their belts and watching every cent they spend on insurance.
Around 46 per cent say they would happily switch insurers if it resulted in lower premiums. They would also give up their life insurance before surrendering their car and home insurance, even though this could severely damage their finances in time of need.