CEO reflections – relevance, recovery, risk advice

This article was first published in riskinfo on 9 February 2026

TAL CEO Fiona Macgregor reflects on relevance, recovery and the evolving role of risk advice, as mental ill health and AI reshape customer expectations, claims experience and future product design. 

When Fiona Macgregor reflects on her first year as Managing Director and Group CEO of TAL, there’s nothing that’s come as a complete surprise – but certain changes have accelerated faster than expected in a sector being reshaped by forces larger than any single organisation. Some of the key issues demanding Macgregor’s attention have included:

• Mental ill health 
• Shifting consumer behaviour 
• Artificial intelligence
• A smaller, more professionalised adviser cohort carrying a growing share of Australia’s underinsurance burden 

For Macgregor, these are not isolated issues, but rather interconnected signals pointing to the need for life insurers, advisers and policymakers to rethink how risk protection is designed, delivered and sustained into the future.  

Change, relevance and restless energy 

Macgregor describes herself as having a “restless energy” – a desire to ensure that TAL remains relevant to the people it exists to serve – not just today, but into the future. 

That mindset, she says, is deeply personal. 

“My dad was medically retired at 47. I’m 48 now,” she says. “We had choices as a family that we might not have had if he didn’t have cover. That gives me a very deep belief in the value of what we do.” 

Her father passed away more than two decades ago, but the experience left a lasting imprint. 

“On the one hand, it makes me appreciate every day at work and the opportunity to contribute. On the other, it creates a restlessness to make sure we keep changing, because what we do is important – maybe more important than ever.” 

That sense of purpose, says Macgregor, has shaped how she has approached her first year in the role. 

A non-traditional path to the top 

Macgregor is quick to point out that she did not grow up in life insurance. The first decade of her career was spent in consumer banking in the UK, primarily at the Royal Bank of Scotland, during a period of rapid global expansion followed by the significant disruption of the Global Financial Crisis. 

“I worked largely in innovation – product, service, brand – both before and after the GFC,” she says. “It was a pretty formative period. A lot of my values in later roles come from learning during that time, particularly around trust and never losing sight of the people you exist to serve.” 

After RBS, Macgregor spent several years running her own consulting business, helping organisations with growth strategy and, as she describes it, “…helping leaders get out of the way of innovation”. 

That experience, she says, gave her a lasting empathy for small business owners – a perspective that continues to inform how she thinks about advice businesses today. 

Her move to Australia in 2014 was prompted by a call from a former colleague who had joined TAL’s executive team, then led by CEO Jim Minto. The brief was simple but ambitious: establish and run TAL’s innovation function. 

That initial opportunity soon became a long-term commitment. Over the following decade, Macgregor would hold a series of senior roles at TAL across customer, innovation, technology and delivery, before spending a year as Chief Executive of Individual Life – overseeing both the advised retail and direct businesses – ahead of her appointment as Group CEO and Managing Director in October 2024. 

“I’m not an actuary,” she says. “And there probably isn’t a typical career path to this role. But I do see my job as setting the conditions in the organisation so we can do the right work – and a lot of that is about change.” 

The first 12 months: what moved faster than expected 

Asked what has surprised her most in the past year, Macgregor says there has been nothing wholly unexpected – but two developments have accelerated more quickly than she anticipated. 

The first is mental ill health. The second is the speed with which generative AI has entered everyday consumer behaviour.

Mental ill health and the future of product design 

“Mental ill health has become an era-defining priority – for our business, for the industry and for the country,” she says. “That has been very clear this past year.” 

Macgregor said TAL’s claims in the last year reflected industry data, with more TPD claims related to – often very complex – mental ill health, and increasingly among people in their 30s and 40s. 

A declaration of permanent incapacity due to mental ill health is devastating for an individual and their family, she says. From a community perspective, the implications are equally stark. 

“It means people are not able to be economically active and contribute in the way that they would want to,” she says. 

“Our reflection at TAL and – as an industry – is whether large lump sum products based around permanence are right for the future,” Macgregor says. “I expect we’ll see a bias over time towards products that are designed around supporting potential for recovery, and are more income stream-related rather than large lump sums.” 

She notes that large TPD lump sums are something of an Australian anomaly, and that international experience offers valuable insights. 

Importantly, Macgregor emphasises that any product evolution must involve advisers. 

There is a shared view …that products designed around recovery, where recovery is uncertain, are better for individuals and more sustainable… 

“With any product change, heavy adviser engagement is important,” she says. “There is a shared view across insurers, policymakers, advisers and the medical profession that products designed around recovery, where recovery is uncertain, are better for individuals and more sustainable for the community.” 

In December, TAL updated its flagship retail product, Accelerated Protection, launching the TPD Support Option, reflecting TAL’s commitment to evolving product design in line with changing customer needs, clinical insights and financial adviser feedback. 

Aligning incentives around recovery, rather than permanence, she says, ultimately serves the best interests of all parties. 

“Through the benefits we pay, there’s a substantial amount of money going into the community, and we want to make sure it’s helping people, and if they can, to get better and get back to work, and that’s good for them, it’s good for everyone.” 

AI and the evolution of consumer choice 

The second trend to move at an unexpectedly fast trajectory is consumer uptake of AI, Macgregor says. 

“We were already talking about that, working on it, experimenting – as everyone has been – but quite focused around productivity,” she says. “But I’ve been struck by how quickly consumer behaviour has changed. People are using AI constantly, for all sorts of things.” 

For life insurers and advisers, that shift has profound implications. 

“AI is changing how people research, where they seek guidance, and how they make choices – including about their finances and their health,” Macgregor says. “That means we have to pay close attention.” 

She says AI is already being used at TAL in the claims area to help teams locate information, summarise documents and calls, and spend more time supporting customers and advisers. But Macgregor is clear that understanding how consumers are using AI externally – and how that shapes trust and choice – is just as important. 

“We all had to learn about SEO [Search Engine Optimisation] and SEM [Search Engine Marketing],” she says. “Now we’re learning how generative AI is going to drive consumer choice.” 

Designing for the next generation of customers 

Looking ahead, Macgregor says TAL’s growth strategy is anchored in two broad areas: 

• Next-generation customers 
• Next-generation needs 

For younger Australians, access to advice remains a central challenge. 

“Many younger people want advice and simply can’t access it today,” she says. “Advisers play an important role there, and we also need to think about other ways of reaching people – including casual and contract workers – through partnerships and embedded insurance models.” 

“Meeting people where they are feels more important than ever. So embedded insurance feels important because they want things to be really frictionless”. 

Equally important is mental health. 

Macgregor notes that many Australians are entering the workforce and into the insurance market, having already experienced mental ill health. 

“We need to make sure products are relevant for them,” she says. 

Beyond claims: collaboration across the ecosystem 

Macgregor believes that addressing mental ill health requires insurers to look beyond traditional boundaries. 

“Some of these challenges are bigger than us,” she says. “Collaborating across the ecosystem – advisers, medical professionals, community organisations – is more important than ever.” 

TAL’s partnerships with organisations such as global leader in digital mental health care, SANE, and its investment in Orygen to develop virtual reality support tools for young people reflect what Macgregor describes as a deliberate intent to listen, collaborate and contribute beyond claims payment alone. 

“These organisations are experts,” she says. “They help us help more people get into the best position possible.” 

For Macgregor, this broader engagement reflects an evolution in how life insurers deliver on their social role. 

“It’s definitely part of a deliberate intent to collaborate more, to work more outside the organisation and across the ecosystem. On these big issues, that feels like the only formula.” 

Advisers: smaller in number, larger in impact  

Turning to advisers, Macgregor is clear-eyed about the structural changes the advice profession has undergone – but optimistic about its future. 

“So, whilst the sector is smaller than it once was, the risk advisers, in particular, have got themselves into a more confident and optimistic position. I think they’ve been really thoughtful about simplifying their businesses and their workflows.” 

Recent data showing that a relatively small cohort of advisers now writes a growing share of life insurance business is, in her view, telling. 

“These advisers have simplified their businesses, invested in technology, and rightly challenged insurers to make it easier – not just for new customers, but for existing ones as well.” 

At TAL, that challenge has translated into a simple focus: faster and better. 

Faster and better for customers and for advisers …means investing in digital, investing in service, and using tools like AI 

“Faster and better for customers and for advisers,” Macgregor says. “That means investing in digital, investing in service, and using tools like AI so our people can spend more time on the parts of their role that really matter.” 

She welcomes the fact that advisers are demanding. 

“They should be,” she says. “They play an essential role in tackling underinsurance in the community.” 

A more layered advice landscape 

As the advice framework continues to evolve – including the proposed introduction of a new class of adviser – Macgregor does not believe existing advisers should feel threatened. 

“People are already seeking guidance online, from influencers, from AI,” she says. “Reforms that help more people get help with their money are a good thing.” 

TAL wants to be able to provide customers with good service by answering their basic questions around cover needs, while recognising the critical role of full financial advice. 

She also agrees there’s potential for the reforms to create new pathways for people to build a career in advice, which “…would be fantastic”. 

Retirement and the long arc of life insurance 

Finally, Macgregor points to retirement as an increasingly important part of TAL’s future strategy. 

“Retirement is a national priority … and I’m optimistic that we have a chance to do that really well here in Australia,” she says. 

She adds life insurance naturally evolves towards supporting lifetime income needs. How advisers engage with that evolution, she suggests, remains an open question. 

“Risk specialists are very focused on growing their core business today,” she says. “It will be interesting to see how that evolves over time.” 

Something different

As the conversation draws to a close, Macgregor is asked to share something advisers may not know about her. 

There are limits, she jokes. But one detail makes the cut – mastering indoor rock climbing, inspired by a nephew who excels at it. 

She’s spent less time training than she’d like over the past year. 

“But I’m determined that by the time I’m in my 50s, I’ll be racing him up the climbing wall,” she says. 

Perhaps this final insight reflects a person motivated by challenge, persistence and a refusal to stand still – qualities that appear to shape Macgregor’s approach to leading TAL through a period of profound change for the life insurance and advice professions alike.