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.
nib NZ completes company amalgamation
nib NZ has successfully amalgamated its two operating entities into a single company, nib nz limited.
nib NZ has successfully amalgamated its two operating entities, nib nz limited and nib nz insurance limited, into a single company, now operating as nib nz limited.
nib NZ Chief Executive Officer Rob Hennin said
“By bringing our health, life and living insurance businesses together, we’re making it easier for members to engage with us and access the support they need. Importantly, this change does not affect members’ existing insurance cover, benefits or terms and conditions. For most, the only visible difference will be the name of the insurer on policy documents, renewal certificates and bank statements.
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mySolutions webinar 'Kevin Smee- presents a Business Case Study' 9 July
FSC announce Dress of Success as charity partner for FSC25 Conference: Transforming for Tomorrow
Financial Advice NZ 'Professional Ethics Workshop' 31 July
Jon-Paul Hale believes AI doesn't have the nuance required for individual situations
Financial hardship withdrawals from KiwiSaver reach record highs
KiwiSaver changes are now in place
Changes to KiwiSaver have come into effect from 1 July. These changes are now live on Kiwimonster, and will be reflected in all the numbers you crunch.
Changes to KiwiSaver have come into effect from 1 July. These changes are now live on Kiwimonster, and will be reflected in all the numbers you crunch.
Government contribution has been halved. Previously, for every $1 a KiwiSaver member contributes (up to a maximum of $1046.86) in a year, the Government put in 50c. The government contribution rate has now been halved to 25c for every $1 contributed, up to a maximum of $260.72 annually.
High income earners no longer qualify for Government contribution. The Government contribution has been removed for KiwiSaver members with a taxable income over $180,000 per annum.
KiwiSaver eligibility extended to 16- and 17-year-olds. The Government contribution and employer matching is now available to 16- and 17-year-olds in the workforce.
From next year, default contribution rates increasing. The default KiwiSaver employee and employer contribution rate will be moving from 3% of salary and wages to 3.5% on 1 April 2026, then to 4% on 1 April 2028. Employees will be able to opt to contribute at a lower 3% rate and have that lower rate matched by their employer. Contributions will be reset to the default rate after 12 months, but employees can choose to reselect the lower rate again.
More news:
FSC appoint Aimie Hines as General Manager Advocacy
Hon. Heather Roy leaves role as Financial Advice NZ’s Independent Chair
DLA Piper oppose warrantless without-notice FMA inspections
May was one of Fidelity Life's busiest months on record
Ramp Up FinTech Expo 2025 is on 25 July in Auckland
BNZ offer financial assistance to customers affected by severe weather events
TSB Bank delivered a $57.6 million profit in the year ended 31 March 2025
New digital platform to help women detect breast cancer earlier launches
NZFSG appoints new Head of Insurance Distribution
NZFSG has appointed Gavin Neal as its new Head of Insurance Distribution, effective 14 July.
NZFSG has appointed Gavin Neal as its new Head of Insurance Distribution, effective 14 July. Neal has more than 20 years of experience in the financial services industry, with his most recent role being National Strategic Alliance Manager at nib. He’s held leadership roles across operations, compliance, project coordination, business development, quality assurance, and sales.
Baden Martin, NZFSG chief executive, said
“In our search for this pivotal role, we were focused on finding someone with the strategic insight, energy, and practical know-how to elevate our insurance proposition – and Gavin ticks all the boxes.”
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MAS employees can receive a 6% employer KiwiSaver contribution
ACC publish annual report - Injuries in New Zealand, Insights from 2024
Steve Wright argues that clients with ‘new’ health issues may still be better off with a different policy
Steve Wright argues that simply staying with an existing health insurer when a client has ‘new’ health issues, isn’t always the best advice.
Good Returns has an article where Steve Wright argues that simply staying with an existing health insurer when a client has ‘new’ health issues, isn’t always the best advice. He gives the example of a client with a current policy that doesn’t provide particular benefits (such as treatments not funded by Pharmac), which is effectively an exclusion on their policy. While the new health issues may not be covered, the client may still be better off switching to a reasonable alternative policy that includes other benefits the clients existing policy may effectively exclude them from.
We’d love to hear if you’ve got some examples like this you’d like to share.
More news:
Financial Advice NZ’s lunch with the Hon. Scott Simpson: A KiwiSaver Symposium is on 11 July
Policy holder claimed Southern Cross' treatment of menopause was discriminatory
Claire Sutton speaks about Asteron Life's company of the year awards
The Government will introduce legislation to ensure the health system is more accountable
Natalie McMurtry announced as Pharmac’s new Chief Executive, effective 15 September
Asteron Life announce enhancements across Personal and Business Insurance
Asteron Life has announced a suite of enhancements across their Personal and Business Insurance products.
Asteron Life has announced a suite of enhancements across their Personal and Business Insurance products. All enhancements apply to in-force policies issued after August 2004 and will apply to claimable events from 5 June 2025.
Some of the key enhancements include:
New support benefits. An example is the new Family Member Accommodation & Transport Benefit which offers up to $300/day for accommodation and $2,500 in travel expenses reimbursed to support a family member during treatment.
Life Cover with accelerated Trauma Recovery Cover conversion benefit
Updated definition for major organ transplant, including widening the scope of eligible procedures.
Updated definition for diabetes, including reducing the threshold for claims from two complications to one.
New Rehabilitation and retraining Benefit for Business Insurance customers - increased support of return-to-work efforts by reimbursing rehabilitation and retraining costs.
Increased flexibility to increase cover in line with life or business changes that happen to customers.
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FSC's Empower & Elevate Women in Finance Leadership series, Session 3: Male Allyship is on 22 July
The FMA has said the CoFI regime “is essential” for it
Russell Hutchinson writes of Australians longevity and some of the reasons for it
mySolutions webinar 'Booster - How to give KiwiSaver advice efficiently' is on 11 June
Kiwibank won't charge third parties for standard API requests
Gallagher named Official Insurance Broker for the All Blacks, Black Ferns
NZ consumer confidence dropped in May, with the ANZ-Roy Morgan index falling 5.3 points
Changes to KiwiSaver announced by Government
The Government has announced a raft of changes to the KiwiSaver scheme, effective from 1 July 2025. We’re updating our tools to reflect the new KiwiSaver rules—including contribution increases and reduced government top-ups—so you can continue to deliver great advice, confidently.
The Government has announced a raft of changes to the KiwiSaver scheme, effective from 1 July 2025.
Default contribution rates increasing. The default KiwiSaver employee and employer contribution rate will be moving from 3% of salary and wages to 3.5% on 1 April 2026, then to 4% on 1 April 2028. Employees will be able to opt to contribute at a lower 3% rate and have that lower rate matched by their employer. Contributions will be reset to the default rate after 12 months, but employees can choose to reselect the lower rate again.
Government contribution has been halved. Currently, for every $1 a KiwiSaver member contributes (up to a maximum of $1046.86) in a year, the Government puts in 50c. The government contribution rate will be halved to 25c for every $1 contributed, up to a maximum of $260.72 annually.
High income earners no longer qualify for Government contribution. The Government contribution will be removed for KiwiSaver members with a taxable income over $180,000 per annum.
KiwiSaver eligibility extended to 16- and 17-year-olds. The Government contribution and employer matching will be extended to 16- and 17-year-olds in the workforce.
The Financial Services Council (FSC) has come out in support of the changes to increase the default contribution rate, and extend contributions to 16- and 17-year-olds. However, they have cautioned that the Government’s decision to reduce its contribution could disincentivise participation in the scheme, particularly for the self-employed. With 40% of members not actively contributing (for example, those on contributions holidays or people in irregular work), halving the government contribution makes it even less appealing for these members to start investing in KiwiSaver again.
Kiwimonster is evolving with KiwiSaver
We’re updating our tools to reflect the new KiwiSaver rules—including contribution increases and reduced government top-ups—so you can continue to deliver great advice, confidently.
While the new rules aim to increase participation, they don’t do enough to support the 40% of KiwiSaver members who aren’t actively contributing. That’s where Kiwimonster can help.
Even for those not currently contributing, Kiwimonster enables advisers to project future retirement outcomes. For example:
Self-employed clients – whether or not they’re making regular contributions.
People on a break – such as those on parental leave or overseas on their OE.
Using existing balances, advisers can still create meaningful forecasts—giving clients clarity, even if they’re pressing pause on contributions.
If you would like to find out how, give us a call.
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mySolutions webinar 'Living an intentional life and building a legacy business' is on 4 June
Pinnacle Life awarded Most Trusted Brand for Funeral Insurance
AIA announce four new national sales manager appointments
AIA has made four new appointments within their Distribution team.
Aaron Gilmore has been appointed National Sales Manager, Retail. Gilmore has been with AIA since 2023 and has been an AIA Vitality Coach and Northern Region Manger, Business Development.
Carley Ellis has been appointed National Sales Manager, Aligned Advice. Ellis has 20 years of experience in New Zealand’s financial services industry and has a proven track record in business development, financial advice, and leadership.
Sarah Hepper has been appointed National Sales Manager, Corporate Solutions. Hepper has over 25 years of experience in the insurance industry, and has spent the past 15 years contributing to the growth of Corporate Solutions at AIA NZ
Nick Russell has been appointed as National Sales Manager, Home Loans. Russell has extensive experience working alongside home loan advisers.
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AIA Trauma Buy-back Enhancement
nib's Amanda Savill unpacks changes in how advisers support their clients
Government announces changes to KiwiSaver
The FSC welcomes decision to increase default KiwiSaver contribution rate
Financial Advice NZ webinar 'Data-Informed Decisions for Private Health Insurance' 28 May
FSC Investment and KiwiSaver Committee meeting on 3 June
Michelle Russell and Tim Horgan step into permanent leadership roles at ANZ
Southern Cross Health Trust funds starter pack for nursing students
Best product, no. Best solution, yes!
Steve Wright questions what makes the best product in his latest article on Good Returns.
We are in enthusiastic agreement with Steve Wright’s recent article, in which he questions what makes the best product in his latest article on Good Returns. Steve advocates that the FMA and Disputes Resolution Service need to debunk the view of advisers that they sell only the ‘best’ product as rated by independent services.
As a research business, we are happy to debunk the notion that we tell people what to sell, or ‘rank’ products. We go to great pains to point out that this is not our job, we understand that our role is to provide useful information about the meaningful differences between products to enable advisers to have better conversations about suitability. We will never tell you what product to recommend because only financial advisers can give financial advice. To quote directly from a slide from our recent roadshow:
We also highlighted the importance of recognising the financial adviser’s unique role in the process of reconciling objectives with options and choices and limitations to arrive at a good solution, which is nearly always a compromise, unique to the client. That’s the essence of suitability assessment, entirely within the financial adviser’s legally defined role. If you haven’t heard us talk through the leading car purchase example, join us at a training session coming soon!
Like Steve, we believe that the best product is the one that suits the specific clients’ needs – even if it’s not the most generous, or the highest rated. He stresses that advisers must thoroughly understand a client’s individual circumstances, risks, and goals to come up with the most suitable product, then give enough detail that the clients can understand the advice and the products recommended.
What are some examples you’ve come across of products that at first look may not be the ‘best’, but actually have been the best fit for your clients?
If you have missed some of the comments on Steve’s article, we particularly like these:
“Advisers must give financial advice that I'd suitable… suitability has a lot more to do with the client circumstances than stars”
“In short, I don’t believe that we should be looking for who’s the “best.” I believe we should be looking for the “best fit.” And that’s a very different thing!”
“It's a good discussion point, but if you want a more realistic glimpse of what is likely to happen here in the future, speak to those involved in the Australian market about the removal of the 'safe harbour' provision in their financial advice regulation. Not only is it likely that product research into features and benefits likely to become more necessary, not less, but it also seems more and more likely that the actual underwriting terms offered across the entire market will need to be considered.”
More news:
Financial Advice NZ upcoming webinars and workshops - Data Informed Decisions & Demonstrating Suitability of Advice for Private Health Insurance 28 May, Navigating the Complexities of a Blended Family 11 June, Ethics Workshop 12 June, Understanding Portfolio Investment Entities (PIE’s) 25 June, Tackling the Tough Questions 25 June
Apex Advice partners with Pathfinder to expand ethical KiwiSaver investment options
The Co-operative Bank comes top in customer satisfaction survey
Legal and regulatory update for the life and health insurance sector
The FMA publish takeaways from the CrowdStrike event survey; RBNZ publish response to submissions on core standards that set the prudential requirements deposit takers will need to meet in order to be licensed under the DTA; Cabinet designate banking as first sector under Customer and Product Data Act; Westpac is to pay a penalty of $3.25 million for misleading customers entitled to advertised discounts as well as overcharging some of its business customers; RBNZ special topic looks at how AI could impact financial stability; ASIC unveils digital portal for AFS licence applications; FSC publish KiwiSaver Industry Spotlight and Life Insurance Industry Spotlights for March 2025; The Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Amendment Bill had its first reading and was referred to select committee; RBNZ release May Financial Stability Report; RBNZ change structure of its Executive Leadership Team.
29 Apr 2025 - The FMA have published key takeaways from the CrowdStrike event survey, which investigated how well financial service providers were prepared for and responded to the CrowdStrike incident. https://www.fma.govt.nz/library/research/key-takeaways-from-the-crowdstrike-event-survey/
1 May 2025 - The RBNZ has published its response to submissions on three of the four core standards that set the prudential requirements deposit takers will need to meet in order to be licensed under the Deposit Takers Act 2023 (DTA). The response covers liquidity, disclosure, and Depositor Compensation Scheme (DCS) related requirements. https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/hub/news/2025/05/reserve-bank-publishes-response-to-deposit-taker-core-standards-consultation
1 May 2025 - Cabinet has agreed to designate banking as the first sector under the Customer and Product Data Act. https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/better-banking-competition-one-step-closer-kiwis
2 May 2025 - Westpac is to pay a penalty of $3.25 million for misleading customers entitled to advertised discounts as well as overcharging some of its business customers. Westpac admitted its conduct in civil proceedings brought by the FMA at the High Court in Auckland in December 2024. Westpac’s breaches of the fair dealing provisions under the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013 (FMCA) affected a total of 24,621 customers and resulted in $6.35m in overcharges. https://www.fma.govt.nz/news/all-releases/media-releases/westpac-to-pay-3-25-million-penalty-for-misleading-customers/
5 May 2025 - The RBNZ publish a special topic from the May 2025 Financial Stability Report - Rise of the machines: How could artificial intelligence impact financial stability. https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/hub/news/2025/05/rise-of-the-machines-how-could-artificial-intelligence-impact-financial-stability
5 May 2025 - ASIC has unveiled a new digital portal to allow applicants to apply for an Australian financial services (AFS) licence. https://asic.gov.au/about-asic/news-centre/news-items/asic-launches-new-portal-for-australian-financial-services-licensees/
5 May 2025 - The FSC publish KiwiSaver Industry Spotlight March 2025. https://blog.fsc.org.nz/kiwisaver-spotlight-march-2025
5 May 2025 - The FSC publish Life Insurance Industry Spotlight March 2025. https://blog.fsc.org.nz/lifeinsurance-spotlight-march-2025
6 May 2025 - The Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Amendment Bill had its first reading and was referred to select committee. https://bills.parliament.nz/v/6/6193a33c-40d6-4354-0d5a-08dd6ff875cc?Tab=history
7 May 2025 - Risks to the financial system have increased over the past six months, Reserve Bank Governor Christian Hawkesby says in releasing the May 2025 Financial Stability Report. https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/hub/news/2025/05/risks-to-the-financial-system-have-increased
7 May 2025 - The RBNZ is consolidating the structure of its Executive Leadership Team (ELT). The new ELT structure, which takes effect from Monday, 12 May 2025, is made up of four roles:
Assistant Governor Financial Stability
Assistant Governor Money Group
Assistant Governor Enterprise Services
Assistant Governor Operations
https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/hub/news/2025/05/rbnz-executive-leadership-team-changes
FSC release Financial Resilience Index 2025
The Financial Services Council (FSC) have released their latest Financial Resilience Index 2025. Results find that Kiwi are still feeling the financial pinch.
The Financial Services Council (FSC) have released their latest Financial Resilience Index 2025. Results find that Kiwi are still feeling the financial pinch.
Key findings include:
55% of New Zealanders worry about money daily or weekly
Job security is more of a concern, with 80% of respondents feel secure in their current roles, down from 85% in 2024 and 89% in 2023
Only 44% feel financially prepared for retirement, down from 50% in 2024. 20% feel not at all prepared.
Concerns around inflation, housing prices and interest rates have eased slightly across the board
KiwiSaver remains the top investment New Zealanders have, with 81% of Kiwis enrolled. The next most common investments are cash, including term deposits (40%), NZ shares (23%) and managed funds (17%)
Only 44% feel financially prepared for retirement (down 6%)
Self-reported financial literacy continues its downward trend, with only 43% of respondents considering themselves financially literate
More news:
ICNZ publish their annual report for 2024
New research shows 75% of Kiwi want their money invested according to their values