The group insurance market appears to have plateaued after three years of strong growth, according to the latest data from specialist research house, Dexx&r.
The Dexx&r analysis said that after three years of strong growth in premium inflows largely driven by premium re-pricing, group risk inflows had actually plateaued in the 2018 calendar year.
It said that total in-force group risk premium decreased by 201 per cent from $6.27 billion at December, 2017, to $6.14 billion for the 12 months to December, 2018.
The analysis said that over the 12 months ended December, 2018, four of he top five companies in the group market had recorded an increase in in-force premiums with AIA Australia increasing in-force business by 2.2 per cent to $1.9 billion, TAL increasing by 2.7 per cent to $1.7 billion, MetLife increasing by 13 per cent to $721 million and OnePath increasing by 7.4 per cent to $418 million.
The insurance company has joined this year’s awards as a principal partner.
The $135 billion fund has transitioned away from TAL Life Insurance following an “extensive tender process”.
The $80 billion fund is facing legal action over allegedly signing up new members to income protection insurance by default without active member consent.
In a Senate submission, the Financial Services Council has once again called for further clarification that the government will assess the consumer outcomes of group insurance against the enshrined objective of superannuation.