Difference between general and personal advice

With something as important as life insurance, you want to know you’re making the right decisions for yourself and your loved ones. But how can you be sure when there are so many variables and options?

General advice and personal advice can both be helpful for your decision-making, but there are some important differences you need to be aware of.

General advice

General advice is often available directly from insurers themselves. It goes a step beyond factual information in that the person giving you the advice can provide an opinion or recommendation on products, which can be useful for weighing up the pros and cons.

The big limitation on general advice is that opinion or recommendation doesn’t (and can’t by law) factor in your specific circumstances, so it’s up to you to decide what’s best for you.

When providing general advice, the advice provider must tell you the advice you’re about to receive is general – meaning it doesn’t take into account your own objectives, financial situation or needs.

Personal advice

Personal advice is more powerful because it provides an opinion or recommendation that’s based on your personal situation.

What’s more, personal advice providers must act in your best interests. So when you seek personal advice, you get an extra layer of comfort that the advice is right for you.

When it comes to life insurance, personal advice can only come from a qualified financial adviser. They would typically conduct a fact find to understand your personal situation and goals, then document their personal recommendation in a Statement of Advice.

What difference does it make?

Here are some sample questions to give you an idea of the difference between general and personal advice.

General advice questions Personal advice questions
What are the different types of trauma cover? How much trauma cover do I need?
What types of cover are available inside super? Would I be better off owning some or all of my cover inside super?
How does the waiting period on income protection work? What length of waiting period would be best for me?
What’s the difference between stepped and level premiums? What combination of stepped and level premiums would be most cost-effective for me?
What are my options for reducing my premium? How can I reduce my cover without sacrificing what’s important to me?

At OnePath, we’re always happy to answer general questions about your insurance, but we believe personal advice is critical to getting the right life insurance cover. It’s one of the reasons our flagship product, OneCare, is only available through financial advisers.

This information is prepared by Zurich Australia Limited (Zurich, OnePath) ABN 92 000 010 195, AFSL 232510. It is current as at December 2020 but may be subject to change. Updated information will be available by contacting Customer Service on 133 667.

The information on this page is an overview only. If there is any inconsistency between the information recorded on this page and your policy, the information in the policy will prevail to the extent of the inconsistency.

The information provided is of a general nature and does not take into account your personal needs and financial circumstances. You should consider the appropriateness of the information, having regard to your objectives, financial situation and needs. As such you should speak to your financial adviser before making any decision based on this information.

We recommend that you read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement available at www.onepath.com.au or by calling 133 667 before deciding whether to acquire, or to continue to hold the product.

0

Like This