In the wake of AMP overhauling its remuneration strategy and scrapping bonuses for its top brass, the boss of ASX-listed insurer IAG says incentive programs in the financial services sectors are being "polluted" by a focus on short-term wins.

Speaking on a panel at the Australian Securities and Investments Commission dinner on Monday, IAG chief executive Peter Harmer said that the "old fashioned approach to compensation does not work anymore".