Insurers kill off overseas junkets that reward salespeople

Thursday 22nd November 2018

New Zealand's largest life insurer, AIA/Sovereign will stop using overseas trips as rewards for salespeople as the industry moves to clean up its reputation for prioritising sales performance over customer service, from next year.

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand and Financial Markets Authority are currently running the rule over financial services industry sales practices following shocking revelations in the Australian royal commission into banking industry malpractice.

“As the largest life insurer in New Zealand we take the responsibility of earning and maintaining the trust and confidence of our customers very seriously," AIA NZ/Sovereign chief executive Nick Stanhope said.

“We are actively engaged in the current regulatory reform process and support the work of the FMA and the Reserve Bank to improve transparency and to ensure that customers continue to have every confidence in New Zealand’s life insurance sector.”

The reaction from the sales force that benefited from the offshore junkets used to reward strong sales performance had been "very encouraging", Stanhope said.

The company had contractual obligations to complete "one last overseas recognition trip" and would apply the new policy from late next year.

(BusinessDesk)

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