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The Hippocratic Oath of Insurance Advice

Writer's picture: Aaron ZelmanAaron Zelman

The phrase ‘First, do no harm’ is attributed to the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates but it is not actually part of the Hippocratic Oath. Nevertheless, the relevance of that phrase is worthy of consideration for insurance advisers entrusted to improve outcomes for their clients in a complex landscape.


After all, policy definitions range from favourable to downright detrimental. Prices across providers (and even within a single provider’s offerings) can vary dramatically between excellent and atrocious value for money. Navigating an underwriting process and in some cases, a claims process will be made incredibly challenging when a person’s medical or financial history is relatively complex. This is before you factor in the minefield of taxation and legislative considerations at play.



What would the Hippocratic Oath mean for Life Insurance advisers?


In short, a professional adviser has a lot to consider when acting for a client. As in medicine, it is not always apparent what the right course of action is or the right ‘product solution’ (ie, medical treatment). This is why the ‘first, do no harm’ dictum is so incredibly important. There are often very good reasons for a person to maintain their current polices and this needs to be considered every time one is providing advice. ‘First, do no harm’ can simply mean do not make things worse even when there is an apparent incentive to change things (such as a cheaper premium).


At the same time, one cannot be paralysed into inaction simply to follow that dictum absolutely. Sometimes the right course of action requires some creative destruction or the taking of certain risks in order to obtain certain (expected) benefits. While it is not call for a black and white approach, it is important to take a level headed approach and minimise harm in all professional advice provided.

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TRUSTMOST is an authorised representative of Count Financial Limited ABN 19 001 974 625 holder of Australian financial services licence number 227232 (“Count”). Count is owned by Count Limited ABN 111 26 990 832 of GPO Box 1453, Sydney NSW 2001. Count Limited is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange.

All of the material published on this website is for information purposes only and does not constitute advice. This information is of a general nature only and has been provided without taking account of your objectives, financial situation or needs. Because of this, we recommend you consider, with or without the assistance of a Financial Adviser, whether the information is appropriate in light of your particular needs and circumstances.

Aaron Zelman is also a director of Willed Pty Ltd which provides an online will writing platform via www.willed.com.au.

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