Morning Briefing: Our business is at risk say life insurance brokers

Our business is at risk say life insurance brokers… Canadian brokerage seeks damages from city mayor… Lemonade aims to add sparkle to insurance sector…

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Our business is at risk say life insurance brokers
Life insurance brokers in Australia are calling for plans to reform the industry to be scrapped fearing it may end their business. The federal government is aiming to ban upfront fees to brokers and financial planners and bring in other reforms to the sector but many are concerned that it will be impossible to make a living under the proposed rules. Mark Dunsford, a specialist in risk advice, has started a campaign calling on brokers and planners to petition the government to protect their businesses. He told the Sydney Morning Herald that the plans will hit small insurance businesses while the large insurance companies will benefit: "There's only one winner out of the proposed current reforms and that is the product manufacturer.” Australian brokers will see maximum upfront commissions cut to 80 per cent of first-year premiums from July 2016, reducing to 70 and then 60 per cent in following years, before a full ban.
 
Canadian brokerage seeks damages from city mayor
Ontario’s BMT Insurance Brokers Ltd. have served a Statement of Claim on the mayor of Cochrane following comments made by him in a local newspaper. The company says that Peter Politis made accusations of impropriety about one of its employees and the brokerage in an article on Nov. 19.

"We regret having to take this action against Mayor Politis," said Joel Bergeron, President, BMT Insurance in a statement. "We've asked him to publicly apologize for the false allegations he has made, repeatedly, both in council meetings and now in the media. He has not responded to our request. We have no choice but pursue this action as his comments have damaged the reputation of our company and our highly regarded employees."

BMT whose head office is in Timmins, was recently awarded a one-year contract to provide and service the Town of Cochrane's insurance needs and is seeking $700,000 in total damages.
 
Lemonade aims to add sparkle to insurance sector
Insurance start-ups are seeking to shake up the business model of the industry and one of them announced Tuesday that it’s secured $13 million of seed funding. Lemonade will offer a peer-to-peer model, connecting those who require insurance with those who wish to invest. The company says that its policies will be cheaper and easier to use than conventional products. "It's unusual to find a sector as vast as insurance largely untrammeled by the digital era," co-founder Daniel Schreiber told Yahoo.  "You see the same basic business models chugging along." The company is planning to start offering policies in 2016 but will face regulatory hurdles first.
 

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