TAL, McCrindle launch index to track client sentiment

Binaya Dahal

Journalist

10 April 2026

Life insurance specialist TAL has teamed up with social research and advisory firm McCrindle to create “Modern Australia Index” that helps advisers track how their clients’ views and circumstances are changing over time.

The annual longitudinal study, aimed at equipping financial advisers with real-time understanding of social, demographic, and economic trends will also assist the life insurer in shaping how it supports and engages with customers.

The research will cover key pressure points in adviser-client conversations, including household finances, inflation, generational wealth dynamics, digital consumer behaviour, wellbeing and health, and perception of protection and the role of advice in their lives.

TAL’s General Manager of Consumer & Growth, Alexis Denby, said these insights would inform not only advice practices but also the design of its insurance products and services.

“Demographics are shifting, healthcare needs are changing and consumer expectations are evolving at pace. Our partnership with McCrindle gives us a comprehensive view of those changes,” Denby said.

“Advisers are working harder than ever to understand what their clients need -and we want to give them something that genuinely helps with that. For TAL, these insights will shape the products we offer, and how we engage with and support our customers.”

Furthermore, the longitudinal nature of the research means advisers will be able to track how client needs and sentiment evolve over time, translating broad social trends into actionable insights for business strategy and client engagement.

McCrindle’s Founder & Principal, Mark McCrindle, said the index was designed to explore Australians’ preparedness at a time where rapid technological change and converging megatrends were reshaping Australians’ outlook.

“Geopolitics, digital and economic trends are changing more than just Australians’ economic mobility, they are changing how they think about the future,” McCrindle said.

“This research will provide a clear sense of Australians’ long-term outlook, and their current financial reality, health, digital behaviours and social connectivity.”

The index will be made available to financial advisers and industry partners from July 2026.