TAL has been named Money magazine’s 2026 Life Insurer of the Year across group and direct insurance, while Acenda has won the Life Insurer of the Year – Advised as part of Money’s annual Life Insurance Awards. The awards showcase excellence across 27 categories in life insurance, with the awards spanning insurance products offered through superannuation (group), a financial adviser (advised) or direct from an insurer.
“The Life Insurance Awards promote the value of life, total and permanent disability (TPD), as well as trauma and income protection insurances by recognising the best providers,” Vanessa Walker, managing editor of Money commented “These insurances provide financial security when an unexpected or unforeseen event takes place, and it ensures income replacement as a means of protecting your family’s lifestyle and in meeting their future goals.”
TAL won 12 of the 27 awards, including seven direct insurance awards and three group insurance awards – including Best-Value Insurance in Super – for offering group insurance to Aware Super members.
“8.8 million Australians have life insurance through their super fund, and the funds rely on insurance companies to provide ‘group’ life insurance – cover that automatically protects members unless they choose to opt out,” Walker commented.
According to the latest available APRA data, there were a total of 29.1 million insurance policies issued as at June 2025. 75% of these policies were issued via a superannuation fund, 12% sold through an adviser, 9% sold directly to consumers and 4% arising from ordinary group policies. NobleOak and Budget Direct were joint winners of the Best-Value Direct Life Insurance, with Clearview winning Best Life & TPD Insurance – Advised. The 2026 awards also featured five innovation awards, covering innovation in claims (won by NobleOak), health and wellness (won by HCF Life), online experience (won by AAMI), underwriting (won by Allianz) and communications (won by Medibank). Analysis for the awards was conducted by Rainmaker Information*, with the research provider analysing 10,000 death & TPD, and income protection offerings from super funds, alongside 25 direct products offered by eight insurers covering death, TPD, trauma and income protection, as well as benchmarking advised products offered by 10 insurers covering death, TPD, trauma and income protection insurance.
“The need for quality and affordable life insurance solutions for all Australians is becoming increasingly important. While insurance cover issued through super is the most affordable and popular choice of cover, industry research highlights a significant under-insurance gap – meaning millions of people are not adequately protected, with the largest gap seen among those younger than 35 years.” Walker commented “To capture this younger, tech savvy generation, the industry has shown a shift towards flexibility in product design and investment in technology, and our awards showcase leaders in this space, alongside those offering leading value to customers,”
*Rainmaker Information and Money magazine are both a part of ISS STOXX as part of the Market Intelligence division (ISS Market Intelligence).