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.
Swiss Re on emerging risk insights
Swiss Re’s SONAR 2025: New emerging risk insights report identifies new or changed risks that could impact on insurers today and in the future.
Swiss Re’s SONAR 2025: New emerging risk insights report identifies new or changed risks that could impact on insurers today and in the future. The report highlights a range of emerging risks, with those most relevant to the life and health insurance sector being: declining consumer trust in institutions and the insurance industry; elevated levels of excess mortality; aging populations; extreme heat events; fungi-adaptations; harm caused by plastics; new technologies in healthcare delivery; rising consumption of ultra-processed foods; workforce gaps and skillset shortages. It’s an interesting read - we’ve picked out some things we think are particularly relevant to the New Zealand market.
With aging populations, fewer and later family formations could lead to less events (such as the birth of a child) that typically spur life insurance purchases.
While NZ is not subject to such extremes of temperature as in other parts of the world, a recent study estimated that 500 children under five are hospitalised for heat-related reasons each year in NZ . Currently 14 heat-related deaths occur in Auckland’s over-65 population annually – with climate change increasing the number of days exceeding 25C, we can expect the number of people dying from heat-related deaths to increase correspondingly.
With fungi adapting to warmer temperatures and the overuse of fungicides leading to more multi-drug-resistant fungal pathogens, there could be an increase in fungal infections and limited medical treatment options for those with fungal infections.
The potential health effects from micro- and nano-plastics and their additives are still being studied, but there is growing research on the negative impacts of plastics on human health.
Swiss Re highlight that innovations like GLP-1 weight-loss medications and the increasing uptake of these drugs should help reduce mortality in the future. Semaglutide (Wegovy/Ozempic) was approved for weight-loss use in New Zealand by Medsafe last month, though it is not Pharmac-funded.
The increasing availability and variety of AI and virtual health services should lead to healthier populations over time, by enabling early detection and preventative interventions. Personalised health monitoring and nudges towards healthier behaviour (a la AIA’s vitality product) will potentially reduce claim frequencies and lead to longer healthspans. Conversely, the digitalisation of medical records and other previously private health information, comes with greater data security and privacy risks.
Research has shown associations between high consumption of ultra-processed foods and elevated health risks, including obesity, type-2 diabetes, depression, cardiovascular disease and cancer.
An aging workforce will contribute to labour and skillset shortages in the healthcare field, which could lead to delays in medical treatment, under-diagnosis and sub-standard levels of care – leading to an increase in morbidity and mortality. Healthcare worker shortages have been in the news regularly in NZ and The Royal NZ College of General Practitioner’s 2022 workforce survey found 64% of specialist GP’s were intending to retire by 2032.
More news:
Fidelity Life roll out this year’s annual product re-accreditation
Financial Advice NZ community of Practice: Central District 17 July
Scheme of Arrangement between Foundation Life and policyholders approved
Russell Hutchinson writes of how insurers could improve awareness
Australian advisers change fee structure, higher revenue and profit
‘Therapy’ chatbots lead to FTC complaint over unlicensed mental health advice
In the US, the Federal Trade Commission has received a complaint about Artificial Intelligence (AI) chatbots allegedly engaging in the ‘unlicensed practice of medicine’.
In the US, the Federal Trade Commission has received a complaint about Artificial Intelligence (AI) chatbots allegedly engaging in the ‘unlicensed practice of medicine’. A coalition of digital rights, consumer protection and mental health groups have submitted the complaint about Meta and Character.AI chatbots that purport to be mental health professionals. The complaint has also been submitted to Attorneys General and Mental Health Licensing Boards of all 50 states.
The complaint has two premises. First, that therapy bots had falsely claim to be licensed therapists with training, education, and experience - despite Meta and Character.AI’s terms of service, which claim to prohibit the use of Characters that purport to give advice in medical, legal, or otherwise regulated industries.
“In its complaint to the FTC, the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) found that even when it made a custom chatbot on Meta’s platform and specifically designed it to not be licensed to practice therapy, the chatbot still asserted that it was. “I'm licenced (sic) in NC and I'm working on being licensed in FL. It's my first year licensure so I'm still working on building up my caseload. I'm glad to hear that you could benefit from speaking to a therapist. What is it that you're going through?” a chatbot CFA tested said, despite being instructed in the creation stage to not say it was licensed. It also provided a fake license number when asked.”
And secondly, questions of confidentiality. Users have had millions of interactions with these bots, often divulging deeply personal circumstances, and the complaint asserts that confidentiality is repeatedly asserted. However, the companies' Terms of Use and Privacy Policies explicitly state interactions with the bot are not confidential, and that anything users input can be used for training and advertising purposes and sold to other companies.
More news:
Claire McArthur is moving to SHARE
Financial Advice NZ webinar 'CoFi Incentives Regulations- A FAP Perspective' 6 August
Financial Advice NZ 'Microbusiness Risk Management Course' 14 - 15 August
Financial Advice NZ session 'Wellington Women in Financial Advice' 24 July
Fidelity Life offers premium relief for severe weather-affected customers
Psilocybin being researched as treatment for clinical depression brain health and longevity
The Government announces the reestablishment of the Health New Zealand Board
FMA cancel FAP licence – advice process, record-keeping, disclosures, and evidence of suitability all factors
The Financial Markets Authority has cancelled Filcare Services Limited’s Financial Advice Provider licence, at its request.
Filcare held a full financial advice provider licence, and they provided financial advice to approximately 1,800 retail clients, many of whom were migrant workers from the Filipino community. Its cancellation follows the termination of its distribution agreement with Fidelity Life Assurance Company Limited and AIA New Zealand Limited and the FMA’s inquiry into its affairs.
Filcare were found to have contravened its licence obligations by failing to:
keep adequate records in relation to advice given to its clients,
ensure its clients understood the financial advice they received,
exercise care diligence and skill when providing financial advice to its clients,
provide adequate disclosures relating to advice, and
demonstrate that recommendations made to clients were suitable.
From our perspective, that appears to indicate failures in a wide range of areas of the advice process. As a comparison business we are particularly concerned with the areas of care, diligence, and skill, and demonstrating suitability – which we help more than 1,100 advisers with.
FMA’s Head of Perimeter and Response Helena Lewis said
“…we observed that clients did not receive adequate nature and scope disclosures and were therefore unable to make an informed decision about whether to seek, obtain, or act on the advice.
We also found that Filcare advisers failed to demonstrate that the recommendations made to clients were suitable. As an example, for a vast majority of clients, the documentation on file lacked the requisite detail to clearly show how the selected levels of cover were determined, and that the recommendation matched the risk tolerance, financial situation, and needs and goals of the client.
In files concerning replacement advice, there was no evidence that clients were informed of the potential risks of replacing existing policies, such as losing benefits they might have otherwise received under original policies, or the likelihood of exclusions or limitations associated with changes in health, lifestyle, or occupation that have occurred since the original policy has been taken out.”
Filcare clients with concerns are able to complain to Financial Services Complaints Limited.
More news:
Insurers see 'unprecedented' claims levels
Financial Advice NZ webinar '4S Framework for Effective Client Communication' 25 July
Westpac announce strategic agreement with POLi to bring secure open banking payments to NZers
ASB offer assistance to customers affected by severe weather
Pharmac and Medsafe to explore the utilisation of AI to speed up their processes
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
New CEO of nib announced
Skye Daniels has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer at nib New Zealand, effective from 4 August 2025.
Skye Daniels has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer at nib New Zealand, effective from 4 August 2025.
Skye Daniels
Daniels was formerly the Chief Financial Officer at Southern Cross Health Society and the Executive Sponsor for the Southern Cross life insurance strategy, Māori strategy, Te Ao Māori Rōpū and the Pacific languages collective.
nib Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Ed Close said
“We look forward to Skye joining nib NZ and leading our NZ team. Skye has strong commercial, strategic and financial service skills, and brings to nib knowledge of the local healthcare market, and extensive experience across a broad range of New Zealand industries.”
More news:
Fidelity Life’s customer engagement initiative is back
Fidelity Life have announced details of their Customer Engagement Initiative 2025.
Fidelity Life have announced details of their Customer Engagement Initiative 2025. The programme is designed to recognise advisers for exceptional customer outcomes based on Net Promoter Score (NPS) surveys.
The campaign runs between 1 May and 31 October 2025. The top 45 qualifying advisers will be invited to an exclusive professional development focused forum. While the location of the forum hasn’t been released yet, it will take place in early 2026 and will be hosted by the Fidelity Life leadership team and business managers. Last year, the top 30 advisers attended the forum at Kauri Cliffs in Northland.
The forum will include a range of professional development sessions and deep dive business sessions, and Fidelity Life will share new customer insights from survey results. Attendees will receive a certificate of completion, which can be used as evidence of ongoing professional development.
To qualify, advisers need:
A minimum of 5 survey responses submitted during the programme period
A positive Net promoter score
This year, Fidelity Life have developed personal dashboards, which detail and advisers survey submissions and current overall score.
More news:
Fidelity Life welcomes record number of advisers to Career Connect programme
Fidelity Life has announced the fourth intake of its adviser programme, Career connect, for new advisers and the recipients of their eight scholarships.
Fidelity Life has announced the fourth intake of its adviser programme, Career connect, for new advisers. This year sees the programme expand to welcome its largest cohort to date - 30 emerging advisers. The company will also soon invite adviser businesses to join the Career connect registry; to signal their interest in offering work experience opportunities to newly qualified financial advisers.
Submissions this year attracted greater diversity, , with 56% of applicants under the age of 35, 62% coming from female applicants and just under 30 ethnicities represented across the more than 70 applicants.
The Career connect programme awarded eight scholarships this year, up from seven last year, with each valued at up to $5,000. The recipients of the 2025 Career connect scholarships are:
Grace Leaso, Auckland - Kōwhai scholarship (for an outstanding Pasifika applicant)
Grace Shearer, Hastings - Toe Toe scholarship (for an outstanding young applicant aged 21-25)
Jada Mandery, Auckland - Women in Finance scholarship (supported by Kaplan Professional)
Marcel Stenning, Auckland - Pāua scholarship (for outstanding applicant demonstrating excellence)
Michelle Andrews, Auckland - Women in Finance scholarship (supported by Kaplan Professional)
Milly Elworthy, Mosgiel – Rural scholarship (supported by FMG)
Olivera Vasic-Wooller, Auckland - Rāngi Po scholarship (for an underrepresented community in financial services)
TK Buchanan, Christchurch - Pounamu scholarship (for an outstanding Māori applicant)
Fidelity Life Head of Solutions Michelle Doyle said
“By taking part, advice businesses play a vital role in mentoring fresh talent… It helps new advisers gain industry experience and build confidence as they transition into the profession.”
The 2025 cohort of 30 will start their journey this week. Over the next six months, they’ll take on part-time study to earn their Level 5 qualification through Kaplan Professional. Fidelity Life will host a graduation ceremony early next year to celebrate their accomplishments.
More news:
Financial Advice NZ Community of Practice: Christchurch 12 June
Introduction to Quotemonster webinar 9am, 27 May
Demystifying Advicemonster webinar 11am, 27 May
Business Risk Research and SOAs with Quotemonster webinar 12pm 29 May
Introduction to Kiwimonster webinar 12pm 26 May
Katrina Shanks and Kris Faafoi recognised on the Hot List 2025
Link Financial Group NZ appoints Anton Wicken new compliance manager
The banking industry welcomes the first reading of CCCFA amendment bill
New Zealanders will soon be able to receive 12-month prescriptions for their medicines
AIA release Claims Compass Report
AIA have released their second Claims Compass Report, covering data for the year ended 31 December 2024.
AIA have released their second Claims Compass Report, covering data for the year ended 31 December 2024. AIA have over 797,000 Kiwi protected and accept 92% of all claims received.
In 2024, AIA paid out $829.6 million in claims, up $95 million on the previous year. Life accounted for 41% of all claims paid ($298.1 million), followed by Health ($167 million), Trauma ($139.5 million), Income Protection ($97.2 million) and Total Permanent Disablement ($23.9 million).
Life claims were up $34.6 million, Health claims were up $23.9 million and Trauma claims were up $22.4 million on the previous year. Increases in claims were put down to the combined impact of insurance levels increasing alongside inflation, more innovative treatment options with higher costs than established treatments, and growing demand for health services due to an aging population and growth in chronic diseases.
AIA NZ Chief Customer Officer, Maddie Sherlock said
“In New Zealand, we have observed increased rates of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and poor mental health, brought about by worsening lifestyle factors such as diet and lack of exercise. These worsening public health trends lead to a higher demand for health services, which puts upward pressure on private health claims.”
AIA have shone a spotlight on mental health. In 2024 $25.7 million was paid out towards mental health related claims, and $8.1 million for suicide claims. Mental health claims were highest for men aged 40 and 49 ($6.4 million), followed by men aged 50 – 59 (5.6 million). Sherlock said
“This big jump in claims for this age group reflects their life stage which is likely to be impacted by the weight of increased family, financial and professional responsibility and high demands upon their time.”
“This is the age where your overall health starts to be impacted by your nutrition, sleep and activity levels versus when you were younger. And your risk of lifestyle diseases increases. These changes can of course impact your confidence and overall mental wellbeing.”
The top AIA NZ mental health claims in 2024 were:
Depressive disorders 44%
Anxiety / panic disorders 14%
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder 4%
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome 3%
Chronic Pain Syndrome 2%
More news:
Fidelity Life offers premium relief for severe weather-affected customers
FSC Empower Women event for Wellington Women in Insurance 27 May
Concerns and scepticism about AI
While Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly being rolled out globally, concerns remain around privacy, cybersecurity and accuracy and reliability of outputs.
While Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly being rolled out globally, concerns remain around privacy, cybersecurity and accuracy and reliability of outputs.
A survey by the Financial Planning Standards Board of more than 6,000 individual practitioners in finance found that 54% of respondents were either already using or piloting AI in their business (with a further 10% planning to rollout AI in the next 12 months). Respondents believe likely uses of AI will include collecting client information, analysing data and developing recommendations. Yet almost half worried about data privacy and cybersecurity and 42% worried about accuracy and reliability of outputs.
GlobalData’s 2024 Emerging Trends Insurance Consumer Survey, which polled more than 5,500 people across 11 countries, found consumers believed AI could have some benefits. Perceived benefits using AI included shortened time required to reach a customer service representative (73.8%), gains in operational performance (71.5%) and better pattern recognition than humans (71.2%). Those who have engaged with AI insurance chatbots were impressed, with 74.5% reporting being satisfied or very satisfied with the interaction. Despite these beliefs, consumers were found to have data privacy concerns and trust issues.
GlobalData’s 2024 Emerging Trends Insurance Consumer Survey (Q3), found that 39% of respondents would be quite or very comfortable having an AI tool decide the outcome of their insurance claim.
More news:
Fidelity Life held first adviser council meeting of the year
Tony Vidler writes about the importance of a prospecting system
NZUAC Christchurch Expo is on 7 May
Apex Advice are looking for a Head of Marketing and Communications
mySolutions webinar 'The journey of building a multi discipline practice' is on 30 April
Code of Banking Practice updated with new commitments to better protect customers against scams
Privacy Week 2025 is coming up
Privacy week runs from 12 - 16 May, and features a range of free webinars that promote privacy awareness.
Privacy Week 2025 runs from 12 – 16 May, with this year’s theme being Privacy on Purpose. You can register for a range of free webinars which span the gamut from AI and Privacy to Māori data privacy.
The timetable of webinars is below.
More news:
Partners Life webinar 'FMA monitoring visit, getting ready to be ready' 8 May
Fidelity Life update Working together guide
FSC members can attend a FMA Special Interest Group Networking Event 7 May
Financial Advice NZ webinar 'Making a Difference: Stories of Impact and Innovation' 30 April
Fintech Festival is on 30 April 2025
Digital Trust Hui Taumata is on 12 August
New Zealand’s annual inflation rose slightly to 2.5% in the March quarter