HIP negotiates mortgage advice and financial planning

In a move that places it on a par with many retail master trusts, Health Industry Plan (HIP) has negotiated arrangements allowing members access to housing loan products and financial advice.

HIP chief executive Ross Bernays announced this week that the fund had negotiated access to a range of housing loan products through Premier One Mortgage Advice, and that it had also teamed with Switzer Financial Services to provide financial planning advice.

The arrangements come at the same time as the superannuation fund renegotiated its member group insurance with ING, resulting in a 15 per cent increase in death cover and a 30 per cent increase in income protection.

Bernays said the key issue of referrals to financial planners was having absolute confidence in the quality of the advice being provided.

He said in partnering with Switzer Financial Service he believed HIP was introducing its members to a group with a real capacity to address the broader financial planning needs of its members, not just superannuation issues.

Bernays also flagged that the superannuation fund was close to announcing its own allocated pension product.