Macquarie Life’s five-star service recognised for seventh year in Beaton Benchmarks

Macquarie Life has been awarded five-star status for overall adviser satisfaction in the Beaton Benchmarks 2014 – Life Insurance Intermediaries Study for the seventh consecutive year, meaning it remains the only participating insurer to achieve this level and consistency of rating.

Macquarie Life is leading the industry in several key drivers of overall satisfaction for advisers: BDM support, product quality and technology services. It also achieved an overall satisfaction rating of 81 per cent, a material outperformance of the industry average (which is under 75 per cent).

The BDM team was particularly acknowledged for its product knowledge, availability and responsiveness; feedback on product quality identified range, differentiation and innovation as high scoring areas; and in technology services, work-in-progress tracking and electronic application support were standout areas.

Dr Sally Phillips, Macquarie Life’s Head of Underwriting, Claims and Insurance Proposition, said she is delighted to receive this positive adviser feedback through the Beaton Benchmarks study

“Since inception, the adviser market has embraced and appreciated our focus on servicing and supporting their needs, helping them to provide the best advice and outcomes for clients.

“It is pleasing that our focus on growing the expertise of our teams and investment in innovative, market-leading product development are recognised and appreciated by advisers. We listen carefully to their feedback and experience working with us, in order to continually improve our work and enhance the adviser and client experience.”

Neil Stubbings, Group Account Director at Beaton said: “Macquarie Life’s commitment to service, support and innovation is exemplified by their achievement in holding the prestigious five star rating for seven consecutive years. Beaton congratulates the team at Macquarie Life for their ongoing professionalism and excellence.”

Dr Phillips said that Macquarie Life will continue to aim for new levels of excellence in 2015: “Of significance are additions to our leadership team in underwriting and claims, which will further enhance our strong service focus,” she said.

Mary Sinclair-Porter recently joined the business as National Underwriting Manager, bringing more than 20 years of experience from the UK market, and will lead work to enhance service proposition and capability, and process efficiency in Macquarie Life’s underwriting division.

Leonie Hawkes joined Macquarie Life in February as National Claims Manager, with two decades of Australian industry experience, including many years managing and leading claims teams. She brings considerable experience in successfully enriching the client and adviser experience.

“We will continue to share insights and tools with advisers, as well as expanding our consumer-focused initiatives in 2015. One example is our wellness program, Evolve, which helps clients address health matters that can affect their insurance policy loadings, such as being overweight,” Dr Phillips said.

“New topics will also be added to our client education video series which aims to bring the fine print of our products and services to life. This series has been well-received by advisers, many of whom are using them regularly in client interactions and have even embedded links to the videos in their own websites as client education tools.”