Chatswood serves the life and health insurance sector in New Zealand with market intelligence, data, and bespoke consulting services. Some of these are provided in conjunction with Quality Product Research Limited - a subsidiary that brings you Quotemonster.
We believe that good decisions are more likely to occur when we have good information about the market environment in which we operate. Intuitive leaps and creative decisions are always required, of course, but the more they are based on a firm foundation of observation, the better they tend to be.
Fidelity Life bring back customer engagement initiative
Fidelity Life’s Customer Engagement Initiative to recognise advisers who achieve great customer outcomes is back.
Fidelity Life’s Customer Engagement Initiative to recognise advisers who achieve great customer outcomes is back. To qualify, advisers must register to participate in the initiative prior to 10 May. From 1 April – 31 July 2024, Fidelity Life will review participants Adviser Net Promoter Score (a measure of customer satisfaction).
Twenty five qualifying advisers (and their partners) with the top NPS scores will be hosted at a 3-day customer engagement forum at Kauri Cliffs in the Bay of Islands.
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Asteron Life updates personal and business insurance products
Asteron Life has unveiled a raft of updates to their personal and business insurance products.
Asteron Life has unveiled a raft of updates to their personal and business insurance products.
The changes include clarification of existing policy terms to ensure greater transparency and ease of understanding and a range of new and enhanced benefits.
The new benefits and enhancements include:
Repatriation benefit on personal and business life cover
Advancement benefit for terminal conditions on personal life cover
Shortened waiting periods for income protection and mortgage and living cover
Cover conversion benefit on business disability cover and farmers disability cover
Enhancements to the Funeral benefits on life cover, kids cover and business expenses
Enhancements to two definitions for trauma recovery and 11 definitions for major trauma
The requirement for 14 days total disability as part of the waiting period has been removed from business disability cover, farmers disability cover and business expenses cover
Introduction of a premium and cover suspension to the optional needlestick benefit
Removal of some restrictions from various benefits such as specific injury support – lump sum and monthly, trauma reinstatement option and the crisis benefit within the optional immediate assist package
Claire Sutton, Executive Manager Life Portfolio and New Business at Asteron Life said
“It's key that our range of covers continue to add value for our customers, policies and terms are easy to understand, and insurance remains as affordable and accessible as possible. We know that these things really matter for our customers and advisers. We also worked hard to ensure that these improvements have not increased customer premiums, given we know how tough it is for many New Zealanders right now.”
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AIA extend one month’s premium free on qualifying new policies
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Fidelity Life report digs into the role of financial advice in New Zealand
Fidelity Life’s ‘Advice for good: Rethinking New Zealand’s relationship with financial advice’ report highlights some worrying findings in New Zealander’s feelings towards their financial situation.
Fidelity Life’s ‘Advice for good: Rethinking New Zealand’s relationship with financial advice’ report highlights some worrying findings in New Zealander’s feelings towards their financial situation. The report found that:
28% of kiwis feel their financial situation is out of their control.
47% of kiwis often or always worry about money, and 53% of under-35s saying they always worry about money.
The majority of New Zealanders don’t feel confident making financial decisions until after age 55 – once this age is reached 63% feel confident in their money decisions.
Only 28% of women feel confident about their financial outlook, compared to 44% of men.
While 88% of kiwis agree financial advisers are the most trustworthy source of financial information, only 22% have consulted one – though 36% have sought help from family.
Many New Zealanders don’t know where to get trusted financial advice, with 41% of those under-35 unable to say where to find good advice.
There are different emotions towards money depending on ethnicity, with 30% of Māori and 38% of Middle Eastern, Latin American and African (MELAA) respondents said their financial situation made them feel overwhelmed. Meanwhile, 27% of Pacific Islanders were ashamed, and 58% viewed their financial situation negatively overall. 74% of Pacific Islanders, 59% of Asians and 56% of Māori respondents feel unconfident or unsure making financial decisions.
There was some good news about New Zealanders’ finances too.
88% of New Zealanders feel like they typically have enough to pay the bills.
34% feel financially comfortable, especially older New Zealanders – with 81% of those aged 65+ feeling positive about their financial situation.
Attitudes towards the future seem to be optimistic, with 41% feeling their financial situation will improve in the next 12 months, compared to 28% expecting things to worsen.
Kiwis are generally focusing on short-term horizons, with 89% of people prioritising day to day spending, 65% focusing on saving and 57% concentrating on paying off debt. Only 13% put growing their wealth and 4% put protecting their finances as their highest priority. 34% of those surveyed didn’t have any form of insurance and only 11% had consulted an insurance adviser.
This short-term focus is highlighted again with only 3% of those under 35 mentioning setting themselves up for a comfortable retirement as an aspiration, with home ownership being the number one goal in this age bracket. While retirement seems a long way away when young, only 23% of those in the 55+ age group mentioned a comfortable retirement as one of their aspirations, despite being less than a decade away from receiving the pension. 79% of those surveyed had KiwiSaver, 30% have stocks and shares and 17% have managed funds.
There seems to be a lack of understanding of the benefits financial advice can bring to people at all ages and stages of life. 31% of respondents said they don’t see the relevance of professional advice, and 10% listed being embarrassed or scared or consider their financial position to be private as a barrier to seeking advice. Only 5% of people stated they don’t know how to/who to talk to as a reason. Part of the lack of understanding on the benefits on advice might be due to a lack of familiarity on the role advisers perform, with only 13% being able to describe it with any confidence. Borrowing money was the most common catalyst for seeking out advice (48%) compared to 36% looking to invest to grow wealth. Just 28% have sought advice on products like income protection insurance or mortgage insurance. For those who consulted a professional financial adviser, 81% said getting financial advice provided peace of mind and 70% said it helped them achieve their goals.
Campbell Mitchell, Chief Executive of Fidelity Life said
“…the evidence shows most New Zealanders aren’t seeking financial help, either through regular financial health checks or at key life stages, until they’re nearing retirement – when it may be too late,”
“As a result of seeking amateur advice, we get stuck in the same old ways of doing things and can’t see a way forward – especially when the people we most often turn to for advice, our parents, have experienced different conditions. Baby Boomers who have achieved financial success via the traditional route of buying a home and an investment property may consider themselves financially savvy without taking into account the fact they’ve lived through one of the greatest property booms in our history, and that as the world changes, a different approach might work better today”.
The report was commissioned to explore attitudes towards financial advice and how to overcome the barriers to seeking professional guidance. The report surveyed more than 1,100 New Zealander’s aged 18 – 69, representative across age, gender, ethnicity and income level and consisted of a mix of quantitative and qualitative interviews.
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FSC release Money & You: Young People and the Cost of Living report
The Financial Services Council (FSC) have released ‘Money & You: Young People and the Cost of Living’ report. The report found that Gen Z and millennials had lower levels of financial wellbeing, financial literacy and financial confidence than older respondents. Some of the key findings from the report include:
Mental health and wellbeing is the number one health concern for both Gen Z (78%) and millennials (52%), with nutrition coming in second place and oral/dental health coming in third place.
61% of Gen Z and 52% of millennials worry about money daily or weekly, compared to only 29% of baby boomers.
Buy now, pay later (BNPL) and personal loans are more likely to cause Gen Z and millennials issues than other age ranges.
Only 42% of Gen Z and 51% of millennials would be able to access $5,000 in a time of emergency without going into debt.
41% of Gen Z and 58% of millennials feel very or somewhat confident about planning for their retirement despite 74% of Gen Z and 61% of millennials not having calculated how much money they need in retirement. 45% are contributing the minimum 3% to their KiwiSaver.
52% of Gen Z and 72% of millennials feel very or somewhat confident about choosing an insurance policy. 28% have life insurance, 13% have income protection insurance, 31% have health insurance, 7% have total and permanent disablement insurance and 11% have trauma or critical illness insurance.
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Tim Grafton has announced his intention to step down from his position of chief of ICNZ next year
ANZIIF has announced the list of finalists for the New Zealand Insurance Industry Awards.
This week is World Investor Week and NZ's theme is ethical investing
MinterEllisonRuddWatts share legal tips for FinTech start-ups
AIA has released 2022 Claims Data
AIA has released their annual claims data for 2022.
93% of all claims received were accepted.
Paid $646.4 million in claims.
Broken down this comes to $121.5 million in Health claims, $233.8 million in Life claims, $111 million in Trauma claims, $74.4 million in Income Protection claims and $15.3 million in Total Permanent Disablement claims paid.
Over 30,000 health claims were submitted online via the myAIA customer self-service portal.
Life insurance accounted for 42% of all claims.
For those aged 20 - 29 accidents are the main claim for life cover while the main claim for life cover in those aged 30 - 59 is cancer.
Over 815,000 New Zealanders are covered by AIA.
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AIA announces major expansion of its gym network
Jon-Paul Hale questions fairness of AIA moving policies after a couple separates
Study finds good financial advice could add almost 6 per cent to New Zealanders’ wealth in 2023
Premium increases at AIA
AIA is increasing premiums on its income protection (IP), waiver of premium and closed trauma products. AIA have said the increases are based on a gradual increase in IP claims and a higher level of claims on closed AIA trauma products compared with their wider trauma portfolio.
The table below shows the pricing increases, with closed AIA trauma products set to have staggered price increases at a rate of 5.2% a year over the next three years.
More daily news:
Tony Vidler recommends advisers keep client consultations simple
The IMF says the NZ Government needs to trim spending or risk prolonging high inflation
Banking ombudsman recommends changes to loan application processes
MyLifeMatters campaign calls for new medicines and more Pharmac investment
Research updates: what you need to know!
QPR Database V15.2A released
Our Research team have made some monstrously good updates to the QPR database recently. If you’ve noticed we’re running a bit slower than usual, please refresh your page and scroll down to ensure that you’re on our latest version – QPR V.15.2A | WEB V4.3.9.
Our latest updates include:
Cigna rebrand to Chubb Life – this has been live on Quotemonster since the brands launch in March, however all rebranded documents can now be accessed by database subscribers.
Kiwibank rebrand to nib effective 1 June 2023 – more information on this here.
MAS - policy document update for Life & Income Protection effective 1 December 2021, with product rating changes in Income Protection (indemnity) – rating applied in Vocational and Rehabilitation Support .
Research for Partners Life Immediate Trauma Buyback and Asteron Life’s Continuous Trauma is available when Instant Trauma Buyback is selected.
ANZ – policy document update for Life & Living effective 6 March 2023, however, this has not affected product ratings.
Other Research remediations include:
Medical: Exclusions
Income Protection: Insurable Income and Inflation Adjustment
Trauma: Heart Attack
TPD: Benefit Definition over 65
If you have any questions regarding these please feel free to email us on info@quotemonster.co.nz
Happy Crunching!
