Attempts to avoid the proposed tax on the earnings of super balances above $3 million or land taxes could leave self-funded retirees exposed to back-dated claims and ATO audits.
A weakness of the super sector is the number of funds that take DIY literally and shun professional input. But this might be changing as a growing number of new funds reach out for a helping hand.
ClearView’s strategic evolution to a life insurer coming to fruition
For ClearView Wealth (ASX: CVW) shareholders, its transformation from a diversified financial services provider to a focused life insurance business, which is entering its final stages, has not been without its hiccups.
In November 2024, a sharp 40 per cent dip in the share price prompted an ASX “Aware Letter” relating to the after-tax claims experience loss in the September 30 quarter of the 2025 financial year, which led to a corresponding reduction in profitability in that quarter.
In response, CVW said: “It does not consider this information to be information that a reasonable person would expect to have a material effect on the price or value of its securities given the nature of its business, being life insurance.”
That market jolt took the share to a one-year low of 31 cents. But investor confidence in the stock’s transformation is recovering, with ClearView closing at 50 cents on Tuesday (June 3).
As managing director Nadine Gooderick (pictured) told shareholders when announcing the half-year results, “ClearView is a simplified business focused solely on life insurance. We do this by providing high-quality, fit-for-purpose life insurance solutions and excellent customer service, in partnership with financial advisers.
“Significant progress has been made on the key strategic imperatives of our wealth exit and technology transformation in the first half of 2025 as part of our business simplification, and both are on track. Our exit from wealth will be complete by June 2025, including the removal of its cost base.”
She added that the technology and business transformation program was expected to complete in the first half of the 2026 financial year, with the efficiencies to flow progressively. “We remain focussed on being the best at life insurance,” she told investors.
In the first half, to December 31, 2025, ClearView finished with a life insurance underlying net profit after tax of $15.2 million, down 22 per cent at a margin of eight per cent (down 2.9 percentage points).
As noted, the life insurance result was adversely impacted by the first-quarter claims experience that the company called an “outlier”.
The claims experience normalised in the second quarter, restoring the life insurance underlying NPAT margin from four per cent in the first quarter to 11 per cent in the second quarter, resulting in an overall margin of eight per cent for the half year.
By year-end, investors should expect continued stabilisation in claims performance, with life insurance underlying NPAT margin projected to reach the guided range of between nine and 10 per cent for 2025. This is supported by premium rate increases implemented from 1 February 2025 that were aligned to increased reinsurance costs and changes to assumptions.
A bright spot in ClearView’s outlook is the strong premium growth trajectory. The company has upgraded its 2026 financial year gross premium target to about $440 million, up from the previous target of $400 million. For 2025, ClearView expects to achieve gross premiums of between $395 million and $400 million.
This growth is underpinned by ClearView’s consistent year-on-year expansion of in-force premium since entering the independent financial adviser market. The company has successfully increased its in-force premiums market share to 3.8 per cent and maintained its new business market share to between 10 per cent and 11 per cent, in a growing market.
A critical component of future profitability is its technology transformation program, on track to complete in the first half of 2026. The company is transitioning its in-force portfolio on to a new policy administration system with the full portfolio expected to be migrated by mid-2026.
The completion of this migration will eliminate duplicative systems costs and enable operational efficiencies to flow through. ClearView expects to benefit from the simplified architecture and transition to a cloud environment which should contribute to improved margins in 2026 and beyond.
In a significant change for income-focused investors, ClearView has indicated its intention to conduct a share buyback of up to 10 per cent of share capital over the next 12 months in lieu of dividends. This decision reflects the company’s view that its shares are trading at a significant discount to embedded value, making a buyback the optimal use of surplus capital.
