Making informed decisions, accepting informed advice
The difference between general advice vs personal advice, is the difference between insourcing, or outsourcing your decision-making process. Both are reasonable approaches to your financial affairs, and only you can decide which is best for your circumstances.
General advice
General advice sounds like something you get from a friend, however it’s far from it. Those delivering general advice must hold an Australian Financial Services Licence, and are governed by a series of rules and regulations to protect your interests.
You are presented with information regarding life insurance, and your adviser talks you through the pros and cons of the various options.
By the end, you are informed and are able to make your own decision about what kind of cover is right for you. At no point in time will they take your personal circumstances into consideration, and this should be made clear throughout.
Personal advice
Personal advice is where a financial adviser takes the time to get to know your complete financial and personal situation, your stage in life and goals for the future. They take all of that into consideration, before presenting you with their recommendations.
This is often accompanied by forecasts, detailed analysis and cashflow documents that show the expected result of the suggested course of action.
