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.
Fidelity Life officially integrates former Westpac Life business
Fidelity Insurance, formerly known as Westpac Life, has been integrated into the Fidelity Life Assurance Company, meaning Fidelity Life is once again operating as a single insurer.
Fidelity Life completed the $400 million acquisition of Westpac Life in February 2022, which has been operated as a separate entity, Fidelity Insurance, since then. Now all of Fidelity Insurance’s assets, liabilities and obligations to policyholders have been integrated into Fidelity Life.
Customers of Fidelity Insurance can remain assured that their policy terms and conditions are unchanged.
Fidelity Insurance Limited will be formally wound up as a registered company later this year.
More daily news:
Fidelity Life extends access to Cancer Coach to Group Trauma Insurance customers and their employees
Katrina Shanks talks about adapting advice to different money personalities
AIA’s business grew by 15,000 customers by year end 2022
TSB wins Canstar NZ's Bank of the Year | Everyday Banking award
Sheridan Sisnett wins Employee of the Year award at the Partners Life awards
Ben Lovelock appointed as Chief Risk Officer at AIA
Ben Lovelock has been appointed as Chief Risk Officer at AIA. Lovelock has a wealth of industry experience with roles spanning actuarial and finance practice areas. He was previously Head of Ratings, Group Treasury for AIA Group.
AIA NZ CEO Nick Stanhope said
“It’s great to have someone of Ben’s calibre and experience able to receive the baton from Doune and take on this critical role for AIA NZ”
Lovelock succeeds Doune Connett, who has retired.
More daily news:
Suncorp NZ announces an extended parental leave offering and financial baby prep program
Katrina Shanks writes about the importance of good governance
Naomi Ballantyne will speak at EQUALIZE
Swiss Re publishes its annual World Insurance Sigma Report
Three new members appointed to the Board of the Māori Health Authority
The Monetary Policy Committee agreed to leave the Official Cash Rate (OCR) at 5.5%
Simfuni has launched an insurance premium payment platform in Australia and New Zealand
Salaries on the rise as skill shortages and cost of living continue to bite
While Trade Me job listings are down 15% nationwide in the second quarter compared to the first quarter, salaries are up. Trade Me says the average salary for jobs listed on its site is now $70,069, up 6% from last year. The average salary for the banking, finance and insurance industry is $86,250, up 14% over the last five years. The average salary for healthcare workers is $69,647, up 26% over the last 5 years.
Trade Me Jobs sales director Matt Tolich said
“…employers are working hard to make sure salaries are competitive in order to attract employees in this high cost of living environment.”
The Hays Salary Guide FY23/24 has similar findings, with 88% of employers experiencing a skills shortage. Perhaps because of this, 95% of employers plan to increase salaries this year (up from 88% last year). 48% of employees intending or considering changing jobs cited an uncompetitive salary as the top reason they were looking elsewhere. Hays have determined the four key factors driving salary increases to be competition amid a continued and growing skills shortage; falling real wages; pay transparency; employees’ confidence to negotiate for better compensation.
Hays lists the top five jobs employers need to fill in the NZ insurance industry as Claims Consultants, Loss Adjusters, Broker Support, Compliance Specialist and Brokers.
16,878 people arrived in Aotearoa on work visas in June, with over 15,000 people arriving on work visas every month of this year. With immigration heading back to pre-pandemic levels, hopefully this will help ease the skills shortage.
Small business owners are doing it tough. A Xero survey of small business owners has found nearly half of small business owners and 60% of sole traders aren't paying themselves so they can keep their businesses running. Bridget Snelling, Xero's New Zealand Country Manager, says
“When small business owners experience cash flow issues one of the first things to go is their own pay, followed by an inability to pay suppliers which has a ripple effect throughout the economy.
It’s a systemic and volatile cycle, which sees business owners dipping into their own personal savings, working unattainable hours, and ultimately sacrificing their emotional and physical wellbeing to stay afloat”
Nib's Easy Health offer reduces pre-existing condition stand-down time and offers 10% discount on premiums
Nib is making their policies more attractive by reducing its stand-down period for pre-existing conditions from three years to two years and by offering a 10% discount on premiums for the life of the policy with their Easy Health offer. This offer is available until 29 September 2023 for new clients under 60 years of age.
More daily news:
Russell Hutchinson writes of factors making the service advisers offer more in demand
mySolutions webinar 'Opening the door to evidence based investments for everyday Kiwis' 12 July 9am
Katrina Shanks writes of the global protection gaps identified in Swiss Re report
FMA to give confidentiality order recipients more support information
Clinton Stanger writes of the value of liability cover for advisers
The Australian financial advice industry saw almost 600 advisers leave the sector in 12 months
The Adviser Platform one of Insurance Business’ global 5-star technology and software providers 2023
Research finds the gender gap on KiwiSaver balances has grown to 25%
Southern Cross launches Wayfinder Awards
Southern Cross Health Insurance is debuting the Wayfinder Awards, which recognise and celebrate organisations that prioritise their employees’ health and wellbeing. Entries for the awards are open and will close on 20 August, with the awards ceremony being held on 21 November in Auckland.
The award categories are:
Star Wayfarer Award: Recognising individuals who have made significant contributions to improving health and wellbeing within their workplaces, regardless of their position.
True North Award: Honouring people-leaders who go above and beyond to improve the health and wellbeing of their teams through positive leadership.
New Horizon Awards: Recognising businesses that have implemented new programs or strategies to improve the wellbeing of their employees.
Wayfinder Small Business of the Year: Celebrating small businesses with up to 100 employees that prioritise the health and wellbeing of their workforce as a core business strategy.
Wayfinder Medium Business of the Year: Honouring medium-sized businesses with 101-500 employees.
Wayfinder Large Business of the Year: Recognising large businesses with 500 or more employees.
More daily news:
AM Best has confirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) for Chubb Life NZ
Partners Life sponsor the Curve Weekly podcast episodes
Partners Life publish updated claims stats brochure
AMP has lost class action case in Australia over disputed practice buy-out prices
Westpac launch Mastering Your Money workshops
Rachel Thomas writes about fears NZ is developing a two-tier health system
Swiss Re reports on mortality trends
Swiss Re’s latest report, which can be found here - The future of life expectancy: Forecasting long-term mortality trends for insurance, investigates life expectancy trends, developments and medical advancements that have contributed to rising life expectancy and estimates what the future causes of death trends will be.
Stats NZ shows that life expectancy at birth in 1955 was 68 for men and 73 for women. By 2019 that had increased dramatically to 80 for men and 83.5 for women.
Recent drivers of big increases in life expectancies have included improved diagnoses and treatment of cardiovascular disease and people quitting smoking. Since 2010, in many developed areas mortality improvement has slowed or plateaued.
In America, life expectancy has declined in recent periods, due to factors including unequal access to healthcare; high levels of opioid addiction and death rates; societal obesity; and high levels of deaths from violent crimes. Healthcare is so expensive, 28% of Americans said they skipped medical care due to costs, with 42% of uninsured Americans skipping medical care because of costs.
High socioeconomic groups in America generally have higher mortality improvements than the overall population, with continuing divergence in mortality trends between those at either end of the socioeconomic scale.
Socioeconomic status is a major determinant of mortality risk in many mature markets, with the risk of dying inversely proportionate to income levels. Large international studies have shown that individuals of lower socioeconomic status have greater premature mortality than those with high socioeconomic status. Low socioeconomic status is also associated with a 2.1-year reduction in life expectancy between the ages of 40–85.
Although, by comparison with the United States, New Zealanders have good life expectancy, there are many countries where it is higher. We continue to lose many years of life expectancy to treatable conditions. Chatswood examined possible life expectancy gains by comparing death rates for the top ten causes of early death with those in other OECD countries, and identifying the gains that could be made by improving mortality to the level of the average of the OECD and the best in the OECD. A summary of the research is included here. If you would like to obtain a copy of the full mortality improvement report, please contact either Kelly Pulham at kelly@quotemonster.co.nz or Russell Hutchinson Russell.hutchinson@chatswood.co.nz.
The report identifies neurogenerative and aging diseases such as Alzheimer’s to become a more significant cause of death.
The risk factors of dementia are varied, with 40% falling into the range of being potentially modifiable behaviours and activities throughout life (see Figure 10). The remaining 60% of the risk remains unknown, likely comprising genetic factors, as yet unidentified lifestyle factors and other determinants. Higher incidence in future could be influenced by a growing proportion of people with a high BMI leading to Type 2 diabetes, along with air pollutants and consumption of processed foods.
Swiss Re expect lifestyle factors including rising rates of obesity and diabetes to put future life expectancy gains at risk.
The World Obesity Federation estimates that 1 in 5 women and 1 in 7 men will be living with obesity by 2030, equating to one billion people globally. If the US continues on its current trajectory, it would imply that 90% of its population could be overweight or obese by 2042.
They also highlight emerging risks as a future threat to life expectancy, whether through known risks like climate change and antimicrobial resistance or as yet unknown risks such as new diseases or some other development.
Future drivers of improvements in mortality are predicted to be due to advanced cancer diagnostics and the evolution of personalised, precision medicine. Swiss Re write that aging-related and neurodegenerative diseases will likely benefit from improvement in treatments over the next couple of decades. Lifestyle and behaviour modifications to improve nutrition and physical activity could have a substantial impact on diabetes and obesity-related mortality.
More daily news:
Southern Cross Healthcare appoint Mark Phillips as Chief Digital Officer
Health workforce plan includes investing in Pacific health workforce
AIA release sustainability report
AIA have released their 2022 Sustaining Healthier, Longer, Better Lives report. Some of the key highlights include:
Achieved Toitū carbonreduce certification (and being recertified in 2023)
Engaged New Zealanders over 8 million times with the AIA One Billion initiative, a global, multi-year programme that focuses on initiatives and events to improve kiwis physical and mental wellbeing
Paid 93% of claims received in 2022
Completed adviser wellbeing research
Introduced seven waste streams to AIA house, diverting approximately 10 tonnes from landfill
Employee engagement survey scored 4.3 out of 5
Announced an enhanced parental leave package
Published AIA’s gender pay gap (19.1%) in support of gender pay parity
Established an AIA NZ Board ESG Committee, chaired by an independent director
Established a dedicated workstream to prepare and assess climate risks and opportunities
More daily news:
Financial Advice NZ webinar 'Crafting impactful Statements of Advice' 19 July
Financial Advice NZ webinar 'Professional Ethics Workshop' 21 July and 15 September
mySolutions webinar 'Belong Group Business Session' with Tony Vidler 7 July 11:30am
Survey finds slight increase in business confidence
Australia Adopts New Life Insurance Code of Practice
RiskInfoNZ poll finds 66% of advisers agree they should meet their clients for an annual review
Jon Raby to leave role as Chief Financial Officer at ASB, Carl Ferguson to step into role
Consultation on Customer and Product Data Bill opens
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) has opened consultation on the Customer and Product Data Bill (sometimes referred to as the Consumer Data Right (CDR)), with consultation running until 24 July 2023.
The Financial Services Council (FSC) is collating member feedback to form an industry view on the on the exposure draft of the bill. FinTech NZ is hosting a roundtable discussion on July 17 to provide MBIE with direct feedback from our sector.
The purpose of the bill is to allow customers to safely access and exchange data held about them. The bill will impact all New Zealand businesses who collect and hold customer data. The bill will require businesses who wish to access data to be accredited and will only permit data exchanges when the customer has given consent.
The intention of the bill is to unlock the value of customer data and benefit consumers through reduced prices, improved product offerings, greater productivity and making it easier to compare products and services.
MinterEllisonRuddWatts has an article that explains some of the obligations the bill will create for organisations.
MBIE intend to roll out legislation on a sector-by-sector basis, with banking the first sector to be designated. CDR has begun to be implemented to an extent on a voluntary basis in the financial sector with Open Banking.
MBIE is running webinars for different audiences that will give people the opportunity to learn more about the draft law.
More daily news:
Chubb offer two months' free cover on Assurance Extra Business
mySolutions webinar - Natalie Whelan on ACC case studies 7 July 10am
Fidelity Life announce speaker line up for Engage 2023 conference
Fidelity Life have announced the speaker line up for the Engage 2023 Conference.
Jessica Brady - one of Australia’s 50 Most Influential Advisers, she’ll inspire you to seize the possibilities of new platforms and new models capable of reaching larger and more diverse customer audiences.
Kaila Colbin - the 2022 Kea World Class New Zealand Friend of New Zealand award winner, Kaila’s the leadership guru who partnered with 14-time rugby champions the Crusaders on a renowned high-performance leadership programme.
David Beaton - whether its financial advice or boutique gin distilling, David Beaton is a business-building ninja obsessed with using technology and process redesign to optimise profit and take business performance to the next level.
Angus Woods - Adviser Ratings has evolved into one of the largest owners of financial services data assets in Australia. Angus Woods’ story is a glimpse of the new breed of industry powerbrokers using data solutions to take advisers – and insurers – to the next level.
Other guests include former senior minister Steven Joyce, who will provide on point political insights ahead of the upcoming election, and MC for the event, entertainer Jackie Clarke.
Adding to the line up to preview some exciting upcoming initiatives for advisers are Fidelity Life Acting CEO Ian Clancy, Chief Sales and Service Officer Bronwyn Kirwan, Chief Information Officer Billy Miller and Chief Customer Officer Peter Doherty.
Engage is Fidelity Life’s flagship annual conference for advisers and will be held in Christchurch on 12-13 September, followed by Auckland on 20-21 September.
More daily news:
nib releases top five medical claims for May
IFSO resolution service saw 569 enquiries in May, a record number, most of which were about delays
Consumer NZ CEO calls for tougher measures to target scammers and force banks to take action
Government announces pay equity offer for Te Whatu Ora nurses
Scams on the rise in NZ
Scams have been taking prime place in the media recently, with everything from travellers being warned against connecting to Wi-Fi networks to police warning people what to look out for, police making significant arrests in term-deposit-style scams to the FMA warning about comparison websites.
Cert NZ recently reported that financial losses as a result of cyber crimes were up 66% in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the last quarter of 2022.
NZ banks and the Banking Ombudsman are working together to try and keep consumers safer from scammers. The latest initiatives is the 4 part documentary series ‘You’ve been scammed by Nigel Latta’, which starts tonight. Nigel explores the psychological tricks scammers use to exploit people and explains how better to protect yourself.
Miriam Dean KC, chair of the Banking Ombudsman scheme, said financial scams were rising exponentially and is urging banks to fast-track resolution of fraud complaints. Dean also called on other organisations oft impersonated by scammers, like NZ Post and Inland Revenue, to step up their activity in helping protect customers. Dean can see the benefits of setting up a dedicated anti-scam unit, the likes of Singapore’s Anti-Scam Command.
“Establishing an anti scam centre along these lines would have much to recommend it in my view, especially as a flood of scams grows day by day ... and scammers will turn to artificial intelligence to further their devious ends.”
More daily news:
Katrina Shanks writes of the importance of using simpler language
Sorted.org release new Money Personality Quiz
Swiss Re writes of restoring resilience: the need to reload shock-absorbing capacity
FinTechNZ: Importance of Data Quality for AML webinar July 25
Consumer Confidence Survey shows consumer confidence has improved but remains very subdued
Artificial sweetener Aspartame to be listed as “possibly carcinogenic to humans”