General Insurance

The Fold began as a dedicated insurance firm when the AFS licensing regime was first introduced in 2002. Since then we’ve developed a reputation within the industry for our unique capability to manage the interplay between our clients' commercial objectives and the regulatory requirements that apply to the offer of insurance.

Helping general insurance businesses to design the optimum distribution strategy through affinity relationships and channels is what we do best. We also specialise in alternative risk structures including captives and discretionary mutual funds.

We specialise in providing accessible, cost effective services to specialist insurance businesses, including brokers, underwriting agencies, Lloyd’s Australian coverholders, discretionary mutuals, captives and other intermediaries.

Whether you’re establishing your business, seeking a licence, setting up new distribution channels, or wanting to sell - we’d love to help.

• Strategic regulatory matters
• AFS licensing including applications, variations and responsible manager appointments
• Claims handling
• Insurance policy wording, drafting and legal sign off
• Retain client disclosure documents including Product Disclosure Statements (PDSs)
• Reviewing websites and other marketing and promotional material, including advice warnings
• Product development/new insurance products
• Distribution arrangements
• Appointing authorised representatives, referrers and distributors
• Monitoring and supervision systems and processes
• Breach management and reporting
• ASIC liaison, investigations and enforceable undertakings
• EDR complaints and PI issues
• Business establishment and structuring
• Sales and acquisitions, portfolio transfers and insurance business transfers
• Commercial agreements including binders, distribution agreements, joint ventures, contractor and employment agreements
• Alternative risk structures, mutuals and captives
• Contract review

• Microinsurance has been around for some time now, but we think the new up-and-comer is parametric insurance. Parametric solutions take the ‘pain point’ out of the claims process and provide a targeted and tailored way of hedging the risk. Whether it is the risk of rain washing out your wedding to more high-tech measures for flood risk – it’s becoming more and more popular.
• Everyone is focused on the SME market and those who are well placed to tap into this market will be streets ahead of others. You’ll need to be nimble, responsive and flexible to be successful – exactly the qualities that will make insurtechs shine. Currently insurtechs and incumbents are collaborating to enable the insurance process rather than disrupt it (especially regarding claims solutions). We think that now insurtechs have a ‘foot in the door’, the time is ripe for them to do more around product design, underwriting and the use of data for underwriting, especially revising legacy systems to take advantage of data and technology.
• Many are suggesting it’s very early days in a three year period of hardening in the insurance market. This stage in the cycle is usually when businesses start to investigate alternative risk financing vehicles like captives and mutuals. Mutuals are providing insurance buying groups with the power to take back control by offering insurance-like protection for uninsurable or hard-to-place risks or helping them to reduce volatility from rising premiums and claims costs.

Are you sure that your managers have enough knowledge of the AFS requirements to keep you on the right side of the regulator?

These sessions are for Responsible Managers, compliance managers and indeed any senior manager of a financial services business.

It takes a full day, but includes lots of interactive activities to keep you on your toes.

It covers the following areas:

• The Role and Responsibilities of Responsible Managers – what it means to be a Responsible Manager, the qualifications and experience required, responsibilities and overall liabilities involved.
• Regulation in the Financial Services Industry – who are the regulators and what do they do.
• Providing Financial Services – what is a financial or credit service and what compliance and disclosure obligations apply.
• AFS Licensees’ Obligations – an in-depth view of all the regulatory requirements that apply to financial services and credit businesses.

Contact us for more information or to design or book a training session.