MetLife to survey life insurance market

Research and marketing initiatives, including a detailed industry-wide survey, sponsorship of an insurance symposium and a number of charity initiatives, are aimed at building presence within the Australian market over the coming year.

Though a number of details are still to be finalised, , Metlife head of institutional business, said the survey would be modelled on the company’s US-based Employee Benefit Trend Survey, which has been well received over a number of years.

Measuring trends in attitudes on a broad range of topics across superannuation, insurance and employment, Burke said the research had been widely referenced by industry and government bodies, and is hoping for a similar response in Australia.

One or more research houses will be commissioned, with the Australian survey to be the pilot for similar surveys in other countries including Mexico and Korea.

Burke said that while the Australian insurance industry is well aware of the nation’s endemic underinsurance, little work had been done to address the problem.

Believing that such an opportunity could prove invaluable for both MetLife and the industry overall, with research outcomes of “mutual benefit” for MetLife and the insurance market, “other insurers have had the time to do this, but they haven’t”, he said.

It is expected that the survey will become an annual fixture for MetLife.

Also on MetLife’s agenda for the year is the sponsorship of a new annual life insurance symposium, to be organised by the (AIST).

Burke said the idea for such a forum had been in the pipeline for some time, but had not attracted much interest from contemporaries, leading MetLife to approach the AIST about the insurance company sponsoring such an event.

To be held in Melbourne in mid-2007, Burke expects the symposium, which will be the first of its kind, to be of great benefit to the industry and its stakeholders.