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.
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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Product changes at Chubb Life
Chubb Life introduce a Moderate Trauma Cover option, make enhancements to Assurance Extra Trauma Covers and Assurance Extra Business Life, Trauma, Complete Disablement and Monthly Disability Covers and change underlying premium rates.
Chubb Life have introduced a Moderate Trauma Cover option under Assurance Extra. Offering coverage for the same critical illness conditions, it is a more affordable alternative to Trauma Cover. Moderate Trauma Cover requires a higher level of severity to be met on 11 of the more common conditions to be eligible to claim. Customers have the option to take Moderate Trauma on its own or mix and match their cover level across both Trauma and Moderate Trauma Covers. They’ll also have the option to take out Continuous Trauma on both covers.
Chubb have also made enhancements to Assurance Extra Trauma Covers and Assurance Extra Business Life, Trauma, Complete Disablement and Monthly Disability Covers. Assurance Extra Trauma Covers have added a Newborn Children’s Benefit, Complimentary Children's Benefit conversion enhancement and added a feature allowing policyholders to convert Trauma Cover to Moderate Trauma Cover. Assurance Extra Business policies have had to Age 65 and to Age 70 level premium review periods added and the payment term options have been extended to include a two-year payment term for Replacement Labour.
Chubb Life has made changes to the underlying premium rates on their Specific Injury Cover under Assurance Extra, Assurance Extra Business, Business Assurance and Agribusiness Extra. The new underlying rates come into effect on 8 May 2025 and will see the average Specific Injury premium increase by $3.10 per month depending on gender, occupation and cover level.
They have also updated their non-medical codes and associated limits – reducing the number of medical code categories and removing several mandatory testing requirements, and making some improvements to limits.
Chubb Life have also extended their 15% Lifetime Reward and 2 months’ free cover for new policies or cover increases under an existing eligible policy until 31 March 2026.
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FSC release latest research report ‘Women and Finance in New Zealand’
The Financial Services Council (FSC) have released their ‘Insights and Trends: Women and finance in New Zealand’ 2025 report. With International Women’s Day being celebrated this month, the report aims to better understand how women and finances interact.
The Financial Services Council (FSC) have released their ‘Insights and Trends: Women and finance in New Zealand’ 2025 report. With International Women’s Day being celebrated this month, the report aims to better understand how women and finances interact. Some of the key findings include:
FSC research from December 2021 found that over 80% of female respondents considered their financial wellbeing as moderate to very low, with just under 64% of respondents reporting they worried about money at least monthly. By 2024, 70% of women were reporting worrying about money on a daily or weekly (in comparison, 51% of men reported worrying about money on a daily or weekly basis in 2024).
Despite reported underconfidence, FSC research has found that women are more financially literate than men overall, with 66% of women answering at least 75% of financial trivia questions correct, compared to 57% of men.
Women (61%) are more likely to be in debt than men (43%).
Women are more likely to be working part-time, have full-time home duties or be unemployed (43%) than the equivalent for men (14%).
58% of women say they are not particularly financially prepared or not financially prepared at all for retirement.
Last Year, Te Ara Ahunga Ora Retirement Commission found that the retirement gap between men and women has not improved, remaining fixed at a 25% difference since 2023. FSC CEO Kirk Hope said
"The current KiwiSaver settings disadvantages those who take career breaks, disproportionately affecting women who pause their earnings to care for or start their families.
It’s encouraging to see the Government make steps to start to address this, with those receiving paid parental leave from July 2024 being able to choose to make KiwiSaver contributions, and Inland Revenue making employer contributions of 3%.”
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Partners Life appoints new Chief Financial Officer
Mark Schollum has been appointed as Partners Life's new chief financial officer.
Mark Schollum has been appointed as Partners Life's new chief financial officer. Schollum is currently Chief Financial Officer at Chubb Life New Zealand and has held a variety of roles in the life insurance industry in New Zealand and internationally. He is qualified as a Chartered Accountant and is a member of the New Zealand Institute of Directors. Schollum will start his new role in March next year.
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New Chair of Southern Cross Medical Care Society appointed
Chris Black has been appointed Chair of Southern Cross Medical Care Society (Health Society).
Chris Black has been appointed Chair of Southern Cross Medical Care Society (Health Society). Black joined the Health Society Board in 2021. Black has held a range of leadership positions over the course of his career, including Chief Executive of Farmers Mutual Group, ICNZ President and Commissioner of the Insurance & Financial Services Ombudsman Scheme. He is currently a Trustee of the Southern Cross Health Trust, Chair of the Natural Hazards Commission and Rabobank New Zealand, and a Trustee of the Mental Health Foundation.
Outgoing Chair Murray Jordan retired at the organisation’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) last week.
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IFINZ publish report on diversity
The Institute for Finance Professionals New Zealand Inc (INFINZ) has published a report on diversity, Insights Research in Support of a Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Action Plan for INFINZ, 2024. In particular, the report focuses on Māori representation and inclusion across the finance sector, and women’s representation in senior roles.
The Institute for Finance Professionals New Zealand Inc (INFINZ) has published a report on diversity, Insights Research in Support of a Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Action Plan for INFINZ, 2024. In particular, the report focuses on Māori representation and inclusion across the finance sector, and women’s representation in senior roles.
Barriers to Māori representation and inclusion included: lack of representation at senior levels to drive change; a lack of representation at all levels; Māori values not being understood or embraced. Barriers identified for women’s representation in senior roles included: recruitment practices and networking practices not favouring women; an unwelcoming finance sector public image; needing flexible working and strong paid parental leave policies in place; current leaders being resistant to change; career breaks for childcare/caregiving roles.
Stakeholders came up with a range of ideas for how to implement change. For Māori representation and inclusion, ideas included: showcasing Māori role models; connecting with iwi and Māori community networks; inclusive recruitment, including targeting and investing in young people; quotas and targets; embracing te ao Māori; recognising and remunerating for cultural practices; having a Māori network in the finance sector; building a charter or accord, supported by training and resources.
For women’s representation in senior roles, ideas for change included: inclusive recruitment; showing women role models in the sector; having quotas and targets; have coaching, mentoring and sponsorship programmes; offering flexible promotion pathways and roles/support for those returning to the workforce; strong paid parental leave policies; building a charter or accord, supported by training and resources.
Of the ideas for change, INFINZ have narrowed these down to a list of actions areas to consider as part of its future DEI activity. The areas for consideration include: a communications and awareness campaign; te ao Māori training and education; supporting the development of a Māori finance network; a Tūakana Tēina network and a DEI organisational network; scholarships; male allyship programmes; training and development for parents returning to work; advocacy and support. They also consider supporting a charter or accord covering recruitment practices; gender and ethnic pay gap reporting; cultural safety programmes; remuneration for cultural services; having women on recruitment panels and shortlists; paid parental leave top-ups and the ability to be promoted while on leave; paid parental leave targeting men; increasing the availability of high-quality part-time roles; implementing returner programmes and policies.
We’d be interested in hearing your views – what does your organisation currently do well? What initiatives would you like to see implemented?
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Bill could modernise insurance law
On March 21st, a Member’s Bill was drawn that, if passed, could modernise insurance law. Labour Party MP Duncan Webb, a former insurance lawyer, says his Insurance Contracts Bill will require “…insurance contract terms to be both clear and fair”.
If the Bill is passed, it would introduce penalties for insurers who failed to act in good faith, such as not completing a claim in a timely manner. The Bill requires polices be clearer and in plain language, to better help consumers understand the terms of the insurance they’re signing up for.
We’ll keep an eye on this and report back as the situation progresses.
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FMA says those with licences unlikely to have to undergo another licencing process
Samantha Barrass, chief executive at the Financial Markets Authority (FMA), has said it is unlikely that those already holding licences will have to undergo another licencing process.
Speaking at Financial Advice New Zealand’s Thrive Conference, Samantha Barrass, chief executive at the Financial Markets Authority (FMA), has said it is unlikely that those already holding licences will have to undergo another licencing process. Barrass said last year’s push for financial advisers to achieve their Level 5 before the deadline was “the most successful transition I've witnessed in my career” and “a world-beater.”
Speaking earlier at the conference, Commerce Minister Andrew Bayly had said he was aware some organisations held multiple licences and he was looking at whether it could be streamlined into a single licence as part of the government’s drive to simplify regulation of the financial services industry.
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Southern Cross Health Insurance appoints Cath Lomax to Chief People and Strategy Officer
Southern Cross Health Insurance has appointed Cath Lomax as its Chief People and Strategy Officer. Lomax joins from Fisher Funds, where she was the Chief Client Officer.
Nick Astwick, CEO of Southern Cross Health Insurance said
“As well as being in the business of health, we're also in the business of people – be it serving our members or our people. Cath brings to this role a wealth of experience which will undoubtedly allow us to build on our reputation for being a great employer.”
Lomax was recently awarded the Auckland Emerging Director Award from the Institute of Directors Auckland branch for her work at Surfing NZ.
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Suncorp appoints new Chief Customer Officer
Suncorp New Zealand has appointed Suraiya Phillimore-Smith as its new Chief Customer Officer, where she will be responsible for brand, marketing, communications, government relations and a growing sustainability function.
Suncorp New Zealand has appointed Suraiya Phillimore-Smith as its new Chief Customer Officer, where she will be responsible for brand, marketing, communications, government relations and a growing sustainability function. Phillimore-Smith is currently the Chief Marketing Officer at Westpac New Zealand, and will move to her new role at Suncorp on March 4. Phillimore-Smith has a range of experience working with some of the world’s largest brands, having held a range of marketing, strategy, brand and communications roles at Westpac, Vodafone and Sony.
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