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.
Legal and regulatory update for the life and health insurance sector
8 Jun 2023 - The Employment Relations (Protection for Kiwisaver Members) Amendment Bill was introduced https://www.parliament.nz/mi/pb/bills-and-laws/proposed-members-bills/employment-relations-protection-for-kiwisaver-members-amendment-bill-tracey-mclellan/
9 Jun 2023 - Anne Callinan appointed as the new Deputy Chair at the Commerce Commission https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/new-commerce-commission-appointment-0
More people expected to delay retirement due to costs of living
The New Zealand Seniors Series: Working Seniors Report has found that a substantial number of New Zealanders may need to delay retirement due to their financial situation.
While the most commonly cited reason to keep working beyond 65 years of age was enjoying working (65%), 61% selected the rising cost of living and 57% chose financial needs as reasons for working past retirement age.
Only 43% of people surveyed felt on track to retire at the age they preferred, with 37% believing they may have to keep working past their preferred retirement age to fund their retirement (up from 23% in 2021) and 20% believing they would not having full control over the age they retire.
74% of people agreed that their home ownership and mortgage status had a great impact on their retirement decisions and 78% thought that being fully retired with mortgage debt was a key concern.
The implications of the pandemic, rising cost of living and looming global recession have meant that 21% of respondents will need to delay their full retirement age slightly and 17% will need to delay their full retirement age considerably.
In December we examined how the market for insurance has changed due to patterns of longer living and longer working. Between 2002 and 2022 the share of 65 to 69 year-olds who are in work rose from just over 20% to 46.5% - a group of nearly 120,000 people. It seems plain that if life is extending, so will working life, and probably the need for cover will continue longer than previously thought.
More daily news:
Enquiries to the Insurance & Financial Services Ombudsman Scheme break records three months in a row
MBIE planning a new consumer rights and harm prevention campaign
Registrations for Financial Advice NZ’s August Out of the Box tour are now open
Submissions for the ANZIIF New Zealand Insurance Industry Awards are now open
Investment Leaders Forum will be held 30 July - 1 August in Queenstown
Study finds moving for an hour a day can lower the risk of developing diabetes by 74 per cent
Report claims Pharmac takes more than seven years to make decisions on new medicines
A report, Pharmac's Medicines Waiting Lists: Impacts on Patients in Aotearoa New Zealand, has claimed that Pharmac has an average waiting time of 7.7 years for applications across all Pharmac lists. The report was commissioned by Medicines New Zealand, a campaign group whose members are in the prescription medicines and vaccines industries.
Pharmac is the government agency that decides what medicines to fund and manages a fixed budget for those medicines. Pharmac need to decide which medicines to fund for the best health outcomes for New Zealanders – how improved people’s lives might be and for how long with the medicine; how much shorter or less healthy people’s lives would be without the medicine; and how a patient’s family will be affected by a funding decision.
Applications on the Options for Investment waiting list, which comprises applications that Pharmac have indicated they would like to fund, subject to budget, have been there for an average of 5.9 years. The report claims that the time taken to achieve funding decisions has increased in the last 2 years, with 39% of applications being funded within 20 months in 2020/21 compared to only 3% in 2021/22. One of the recommendations the report calls for is for Pharmac to establish a performance benchmark for the time taken to achieve funding decisions.
Some insurance companies offer access to Medsafe-approved, non-Pharmac funded medicines, like nib’s non-Pharmac Plus option.
More daily news:
Financial Advice NZ webinar 'Embracing AI in the world of finance' on 28 June
Office of the Privacy Commissioner encourages two-factor authentication
Legal and regulatory update for the life and health insurance sector
6 Jun 2023 - The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has released the finalised reporting standards for insurers impacted by the introduction of the Australian Accounting Standards Board 17 Insurance Contracts (AASB 17). https://www.apra.gov.au/news-and-publications/apra-responds-to-consultation-on-minor-amendments-to-insurance-reporting
8 Jun 2023 - The FMA has filed civil proceedings against AA Insurance Limited for failing to apply multi policy and membership discounts, as well as guaranteed no claims bonuses to eligible customers’ premiums, resulting in $11.12 million in overcharges. https://www.fma.govt.nz/news/all-releases/media-releases/fma-files-proceedings-against-aa-insurance-for-alleged-fair-dealing-breaches/
8 Jun 2023 - MBIE: Regulations have been made to support the Financial Markets (Conduct of Institutions) Amendment Act 2022. Links to the regulations are below, along with details of an online information session that MBIE will be holding regarding the sales incentives regulations.
Links to the regulations
The regulations can be found at the following links:Financial Markets Conduct (Conduct of Institutions) Amendment Regulations 2023: https://www.legislation.govt.nz/regulation/public/2023/0123/latest/whole.html
These regulations cover the sales incentives prohibition based on volume or value targets and other provisions to ensure the regime works as intended, including provisions setting the requirements for participants in the Lloyd’s insurance market.
Financial Markets Conduct (Fees) Amendment Regulations 2023: https://www.legislation.govt.nz/regulation/public/2023/0124/latest/LMS829791.html These regulations set the licensing fee for financial institutions applying for a market services licence under the regime.
A commencement order has also been made, which will bring the regime into effect from 31 March 2025. As you may be aware, financial institutions will be able to apply for a licence from the FMA from 25 July 2023 and must be licensed by 31 March 2025 to continue providing relevant services to consumers. The FMA has advised that by submitting an application as early as possible, applicants will give themselves the best chance of ensuring their licence is processed before 31 March 2025. The commencement order can be found at the following link: https://www.legislation.govt.nz/regulation/public/2023/0122/latest/LMS830584.html
The monster has new features and new technology - be the first to see
Aneel Ravji, Kelly Pulham and Russell Hutchinson
Quotemonster will be touring the country from 18 July to 11 August.
New tech and new tools:
New comparisons
New AI tools to make your life easier
New ways to make your advice process better, safer, and quicker
Review of recent guidance
At this stage, we don’t want to say more – but it will be worth coming along.
In addition, it’s a great opportunity for us to meet with you and hear about what’s happening for you in the market and how we can help. There will be time for questions and some one on one time with our team to work through any scenarios or features you want to explore further.
Look out for the invitation in your inbox (if you have an account) or just click on your nearest town below to register.
11 August - Auckland (North Shore)
We look forward to seeing you soon.
FMA files court proceedings against MAS over fair dealing provisions breaches
MAS self-reported that it had multiple failures between 2014 and 2022:
Failure to apply the correct inflation adjustments to 6,297 customers
Failure to apply multi-policy discounts affecting 8,864 customers
Underpayment of life and disability claims affecting 104 customers
Failure to apply no claims bonuses correctly, affecting 1,235 customers
MAS’s failures were due to errors and deficiencies in its systems, including data entry errors by MAS employees. MAS has been co-operating with the FMA through its investigation.
The FMA is seeking a declaration that MAS contravened the FMC Act and a pecuniary penalty.
MAS has rolled out an unclaimed monies register in support of their remediation process to correct pricing and payout errors. While most affected clients have been compensated, the register encourages impacted members who haven’t been contacted to get in touch to receive their refund.
Jason McCracken, MAS chief, has apologised to members.
“As a mutual, MAS takes the trust our Members have in us very seriously and we apologise for the impact these errors have had. We remain committed to finding any issues and making them right.”
More daily news:
nib's top five medical claims by dollar value for April cover spine, heart, and cancer surgeries
Katrina Shanks writes of the importance of businesses' health and wellbeing policies
The Retirement Commission launch De-jargoning Money initiative
Liam Mason says there has not been a significant increase in Section 25 notices in recent years
Crombie Lockwood awarded a Human Resources Director New Zealand Employers of Choice award for 2023
Kelly Sullivan appointed as the new national manager of PSC Connect Life NZ Ltd in May
Bowel Cancer NZ encourage you to take part in the ‘move your butt’ challenge this June
PWC release Family Business Survey 2023
PWC’s Family Business Survey of key decision-makers in 52 family businesses across NZ had some interesting insights on what these businesses’ priorities and plans for the future are.
• 69% expect to grow over the next two years
• 90% have some form of governance policy in place
• 52% feel they have strong digital capabilities
• Only 10% actively protect and consistently communicate about how they use private data
• 35% of business leaders said they will focus on improving their digital capability over the next two years
• 35% have an agreed and communicated environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategy
More daily news:
Naomi Ballantyne talks about how her exit strategy for Partners Life changed
Jon Davies says every insurance company needs to be looking at how they use technology and AI
ANZ and ASB are named as some of the top 20 employers in NZ
Study links ultra-processed foods and depression
Australian workplaces required to look after employees wellbeing
Nurses at Gisborne Hospital strike for health and safety reasons
Legal and regulatory update for the life and health insurance sector
1 Jun 2023 - Following consultation on draft regulations, the Ministry of Justice have decided six of the proposed changes need to be in primary legislation. https://www.dia.govt.nz/AML-CFT-Update-on-changes-to-AML-CFT-Act-regulations
1 Jun 2023 - The FMA has filed High Court proceedings against Medical Assurance Society New Zealand Limited (MAS) and its subsidiaries for fair dealing breaches under section 22 of the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013 (FMC Act). The FMA claims that between 2014 and 2022, MAS failed to apply the correct inflation adjustments on its customer policies, failed to apply multi-policy discounts and no claims bonuses, and underpaid life and disability claims to eligible clients. https://financialmarketsauthority.cmail20.com/t/r-l-tttjqly-btuitpxk-y/
1 Jun 2023 - The Accident Compensation (Access Reporting and Other Matters) Amendment Bill, was read a third time. This means people will now be able to access the minimum rate of compensation earlier – from the second week of injury instead of having to wait until the sixth week. https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/faster-acc-payment-top-ups-and-fairer-system
Financial Advice NZ’s Money Month Campaign needs your financial tips
This year’s Sorted Money Month is on the topic ‘Maximising Your Money’. Financial Advice NZ’s social media campaign will run across August 2023 and will comprise videos and fact sheets of top tips for different life stages.
Financial Advice NZ is calling for their members to make and submit videos sharing their top tips for maximising money for the following life stages:
• Top tips for when you’re young (20s-30s) – week 1
• Top tips for in your mid-life (40s) – week 2
• Top tips for pre-retirement (50-64) – week 3
• Top tips for retirement (65+) – week 4
Financial Advice NZ will credit all contributors in videos, fact sheets and social media posts, and will be promoting the importance of seeking professional financial advice. Find information on how to film and submit a video here.
More daily news:
Peter Fa’afiu appointed as an Independent Member Director on the Financial Advice NZ Board
The Retirement Commission launch De-jargoning Money initiative
Don Stewart, founder of the Stewart Group, retires
Sir Ashley Bloomfield promotes Pause Breathe Smile programme
Sir Ashley Bloomfield has partnered with Southern Cross to promote the Pause Breathe Smile programme.
“I’m very excited about supporting Pause Breathe Smile as a way to help our children be more resilient, positive, and ready to face challenging situations in their own lives.”
Aimed at supporting mental health and wellbeing among children, Pause Breathe Smile is funded by Southern Cross and is available to all kura, primary and intermediate schools in New Zealand. Over 114,000 children across more than 400 schools had completed the programme since Southern Cross partnered with the Pause Breathe Smile Charitable Trust in 2020.
Survey results show the efficacy and importance of the programme. Chris White, CEO of Southern Cross Healthcare, said
“More than 1,000 responses from educators trained in Pause Breathe Smile showed that positive behaviour in the classroom increased by 12.4 per cent and negative behaviour in the classroom reduced by 10.1 per cent. We were also excited to see that 12 months on from introducing PBS, general student wellbeing was up 16.6 per cent and that the number of students flourishing increased by 8.1 per cent.”
More daily news:
Chubb Life raised its underlying rates on a wide range of products, extends two months free campaign
Chubb are holding the inaugural Chubb Connect event on Friday 23 June
Katrina Shanks writes of how businesses are underwhelmed by the Budget
AIA put 15 staff through HIKITIA MAI, their new Women in Leadership programme
mySolutions is holding a cyber security webinar 9 June
ASB wins 2023 INFINZ Corporate ESG Award
ANZ are holding a Māori in Business webinar 15 June
The average age of people of people enrolling for financial services certificate is 36
Law firm cautions the FMA has increased use of its Section 25 information gathering powers
Two new mental health facilities open at the Christchurch Hillmorton Hospital campus
Regular exercise may reduce a woman's chances of developing Parkinson's by as much as 25%