With something as important as life insurance, you want to know youâre 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 doesnât (and canât by law) factor in your specific circumstances, so itâs up to you to decide whatâs best for you.
When providing general advice, the advice provider must tell you the advice youâre about to receive is general â meaning it doesnât take into account your own objectives, financial situation or needs.
Personal advice
Personal advice is more powerful because it provides an opinion or recommendation thatâs based on your personal situation.
Whatâs 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.
At OnePath, weâre always happy to answer general questions about your insurance, but we believe personal advice is critical to getting the right life insurance cover. Itâs 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.