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.

Kelly O Kelly O

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.

 

More news:

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

Read More
Kelly O Kelly O

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

OMNIMax's Projection Tool gives advisers a visual way to show clients how their KiwiSaver or Investment could perform

New digital platform to help women detect breast cancer earlier launches

Read More
Kelly O Kelly O

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.”

 

More news:

MAS employees can receive a 6% employer KiwiSaver contribution

ACC publish annual report - Injuries in New Zealand, Insights from 2024

Government lift GPs funding by 13.89% this year

Read More
Kelly O Kelly O

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

Read More
Kelly O Kelly O

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.

 

More news:

FSC's Empower & Elevate Women in Finance Leadership series, Session 3: Male Allyship is on 22 July

nib launch nib Balance

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

Read More