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.
Premium increases at AIA
AIA is increasing premiums on its income protection (IP), waiver of premium and closed trauma products. AIA have said the increases are based on a gradual increase in IP claims and a higher level of claims on closed AIA trauma products compared with their wider trauma portfolio.
The table below shows the pricing increases, with closed AIA trauma products set to have staggered price increases at a rate of 5.2% a year over the next three years.
More daily news:
Tony Vidler recommends advisers keep client consultations simple
The IMF says the NZ Government needs to trim spending or risk prolonging high inflation
Banking ombudsman recommends changes to loan application processes
MyLifeMatters campaign calls for new medicines and more Pharmac investment
Legal and regulatory update for the life and health insurance sector
28 Aug 2023 - The Reserve Bank has introduced a new data series called New Residential Mortgage Lending by Purpose https://www.interest.co.nz/personal-finance/123983/number-people-choosing-top-their-home-mortgage-running-fewer-half-number
28 Aug 2023 - ASIC’s latest Corporate Plan reveals ASIC will take further enforcement action to protect Australian consumers and small businesses in an environment where scams, digitally-enabled misconduct and predatory lending practices are increasingly prevalent https://asic.gov.au/about-asic/news-centre/find-a-media-release/2023-releases/23-230mr-asic-focuses-on-protecting-vulnerable-consumers-and-small-businesses-in-23-24/
29 Aug 2023 - APRA has unveiled its 2023-24 Corporate Plan, which outlines an evolution in APRA’s priorities for the coming four years in response to new and developing risks impacting the global financial system https://www.apra.gov.au/news-and-publications/apra-responds-to-emerging-risks-2023-24-corporate-plan
Fidelity Life has announced the finalists for its 2023 advisor awards
Fidelity Life has announced the nominees shortlisted for its 2023 advisor awards. The awards recognise advisers who have consistently delivered good outcomes for customers and upheld high standards within the industry.
The award categories and finalists are:
Breakthrough adviser of the Year:
Kimberley Stevenson, With You Financial Services Ltd – Christchurch
Kylie Connor, Mainland – Timaru
Sascha Nettmann, Buffer Insurance – Auckland
Shakeel Lal, Halo Advisers Ltd – Auckland
Steve Munro, Risk Direct – Auckland
Cary Veenhof Award:
Amanda Haskin, Haskin Insurance Solutions – Christchurch
Anthony Gobbie, Insurance Design – Auckland
Brett Stonham, Stonham and Co – Auckland
Tim Lethlean, Delray Group – Christchurch
Team of the Year:
Adelphi Insurance brokers, Chris Boon – Christchurch
Financial Independence, Matt Beattie – Tauranga
Insure Ltd, Dave Jochem – Christchurch
Total Life, Craig Kura – Invercargill
There are an additional two categories which will be presented at the Fidelity Life’s Engage conferences – the Lifetime Award and the Gordon Watson Trophy.
Engage 2023, will be hosted in Christchurch on 12-13 September, followed by Auckland on 20-21 September.
More daily news:
Dan Mead has joined MAS as an Investment Manager
FMA reappoints Prasanna Gai to the board
Philip Macalister believes NZ will be exposed if COFI is repealed
Rob Hennin believes nib's financial results are the result of a strategy that works
mySolutions webinar 'Sharing insights on my business' 9am 6 September
Political parties announce policies requiring financial literacy to be taught in schools
Labour has announced a financial skills in schools policy that would require financial literacy to be taught at all levels in all schools by 2025, if Labour are re-elected.
Labour leader and Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said
“We know that our young people, to set them up for success, we need to make sure they understand the basics of budgeting, they need to understand basic financial concepts, they need to understand how to be good with money, they need to understand things like interest rates, KiwiSaver, insurance, debt, borrowing."
"We want to make sure they’re learning those core skills while they are at school, because we know that that's going to set them up well for a prosperous life beyond school.”
National Party deputy Leader Nicola Willis has said that, if elected, a National-led government would also make financial literacy compulsory in schools.
With both major parties backing the proposal, it is likely to become Government policy, regardless of the results of the election.
We share a view that poor financial literacy is a problem – as many acknowledge. Yet it is not clear to us how successful schools can be in addressing the issue. One is that skills taught in school tend not to be retained unless they are something that children have a particular interest in. Understanding prices, money, borrowing and saving, are likely to be useful at an earlier stage, for example, than insurance and home loans. As with all curriculum changes, making it relevant and balancing it against other educational needs is something that requires careful consideration.
FSC Gala Dinner
Congratulations to all the FSC award winners, including our very own Advisory Board member, Steve Burgess.
The Quotemonster team had a well deserved night out at the FSC Gala awards after a long four weeks of organising, travelling and presenting to over 600 advisers for our annual roadshow.
Legal and regulatory update for the life and health insurance sector
18 Aug 2023 - The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) today confirms several executive changes within its senior leadership team. https://asic.gov.au/about-asic/news-centre/news-items/asic-announces-executive-appointments/
23 Aug 2023 - The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has published a Bulletin article highlighting high level results from a survey of prudentially regulated entities on climate change. Almost all entities’ governance bodies are discussing climate-related risks on a regular or ad hoc basis (28 out of 29). Concerns about climate-related risks are influencing day-to-day business decisions more than they were in 2019. However, only 3 out of 29 entities stated they have ‘fully embedded’ different aspects of climate-related risk management in the manner they already do for other business risks. https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/hub/news/2023/08/rbnz-releases-results-of-industry-climate-survey
23 Aug 2023 - APRA releases quarterly private health insurance statistics for June 2023 https://www.apra.gov.au/news-and-publications/apra-releases-quarterly-private-health-insurance-statistics-for-june-2023
23 Aug 2023 - The FSC have published 'KiwiSaver serious illness and life-shortening congenital conditions processing guidelines' https://blog.fsc.org.nz/guidelines-kiwisaver-serious-illness
24 Aug 2023 - The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has published new statistics from the monthly Loan-to-Valuation New Commitments Survey. The Loan-to-Valuation New Commitments Survey collects data from registered banks on new mortgage lending commitments during the month. On 31 August, RBNZ will also publish new statistics from the Bank Balance Sheet Survey (BBS), making more data available to all users on their website. The Bank Balance Sheet Survey collects data from registered banks on non-performing loans (impaired or more than 90 days past due) and provisions (for potential bad debts) across the banking system. https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/statistics/series/lending-and-monetary/new-residential-mortgage-lending-by-loan-to-valuation-ratio
24 Aug 2023 - The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has completed a review of its Connected Exposures policy; the finalised policy has now been published and is expected to come into effect on 1 October 2023. https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/hub/news/2023/08/connected-exposures-policy-finalised
24 Aug 2023 - The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has advised it will suspend the release of the September 2023 editions of the quarterly insurance statistical publications ordinarily released in late November 2023. https://www.apra.gov.au/news-and-publications/apra-suspends-publication-of-next-quarterly-insurance-statistics
24 Aug 2023 - Today, the privacy protection authorities of New Zealand, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Switzerland, Norway, Columbia, Morocco, Argentina, Mexico and Jersey are issuing statements on data scraping, and how the public can protect their privacy. https://privacy.org.nz/publications/statements-media-releases/new-zealand-part-of-global-effort-on-data-scraping/
25 Aug 2023 - ASIC has welcomed three new Commissioners to ASIC - Ms Katherine O’Rourke, Mr Alan Kirkland and Ms Simone Constant https://asic.gov.au/about-asic/news-centre/find-a-media-release/2023-releases/23-229mr-asic-welcomes-appointment-of-three-commissioners/
25 Aug 2023 - Chapter Zero has published an article on 'Data-driven decisions: Governance outtakes' https://www.chapterzero.nz/news/data-driven-decisions-governance-outtakes/
Southern Cross release their Workplace Wellness Report 2023
Southern Cross have released their Workplace Wellness Report 2023, an in-depth analysis of health and wellbeing in the workplace. Southern Cross surveyed 137 enterprises across New Zealand, representing 135,742 employees, or 6.5% of all NZ employees.
Some of the key findings include
• The average rate of absence per employee was 5.5 days, the highest ever. It was also the first full calendar year since the increased sick leave entitlement of 10 days per annum was in force and there was a mandatory stand-down of seven days for people who contracted Covid-19 that was in place during the time of the survey. From 2012 – 2020 the average ranged from 4.2 to 4.7 days per year.
• The cost to an employer for a typical employee’s absence is now $1,235 annually. Over the entire economy, the cost of absence reached approximately $2.86 billion, due to both increased absence rates and rising labour costs. This is a significant increase from the $1.85 billion cost for the total economy in 2020.
• 49.7% of organisations have observed an increase in stress in 2022. Workload is the main cause of work-related stress/anxiety and long hours as the second main cause of stress. Given the tight labour market conditions, it’s unsurprising that job uncertainty/redundancies dropped down the rankings significantly this year. Financial concerns are now the number one non-work-related stressor.
• 22% of organisations have reported instances of ‘quiet quitting’, where employees signal their intention to work within defined work hours only.
• The impact of staff wellness on productivity has grown to a mean of 4.33 out of 5, up from 3.91 in 2020.
• The main practices businesses are using to identify mental wellbeing/stress are staff surveys and training for managers.
• The top six benefits provided to improve employee well being were: an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP); vaccinations; flexible hours/working at home; education/training; wellbeing programmes; and parental leave.
• Almost 40% of organisations provided some form of subsidised health insurance for at least some employees. For employers who do not provide health insurance for employees, cost is a major barrier, with 53.4% of organisations saying a decrease in the cost of health insurance would prompt them to consider providing health insurance as a benefit. 31.9% would consider providing health insurance if they had evidence that it assists in retaining staff due to its perceived value. 14.7% would consider providing health insurance if they were approached by a health insurer to discuss the fundamentals of insurance, policies, benefits and wellness programmes.
• More than half of organisations allow more people to work from home since 2021, with one to two days per week as the most common working from home option.
• All organisations who had made changes around allowing staff to work from home or remotely saw it as a positive move, with employees happier to have more flexibility. On the flip side, almost all large organisations and about half of smaller organisations reported some employees felling isolated, some issues around collaboration.
More daily news:
Katrina Shanks writes about how the cost of living crisis is affecting middle income earners
Andrew Bayly says CoFi needs to go
Chubb Life are holding a marketing masterclass on 30 August
mySolutions webinar 'Lend and Protect' 9am 30 August
The Government’s mental health and addiction programme has hit one million support sessions
Research finds 55% of kiwis are struggling with their financial situation
Quotemonster Online Training (with tips and tricks)
Over 2,500 Financial Advisers in New Zealand have crunched over 15 million quotes in the last 12 years using Quotemonster, and we invite you to see why!
We welcome you to join our upcoming introductory training session scheduled on Thursday, 24 August 2023 10:00 am-11:00 am
In this session, hosted by Kelly, our National Partnerships Lead, we go over the basics of using Quotemonster and how to make the most of your Researchmonster subscription along with:
How to generate a premium comparison between insurers
How to set up your Product and Provider Settings screen
How to directly compare two insurers for replacement business (Head-to-Head)
How to download our detailed comparison and client-friendly benefit overview or heat map report
How to add banks and non-adviser companies to your Research comparison
How to find legacy policy documents
If you would like to register for this session please send us an email on info@quotemonster.co.nz
We look forward to seeing you there!
nib releases FY23 financial results
nib has released its annual financial results for the year ended 30 June 2023.
Net profit after tax A$191.8 million – up 42.8%
Net Premium revenue A$2.91115 billion – up 7.7%
Net premium revenue $360.7 million – up 15.9%
Underwriting result $36.1 million
Claims incurred (excluding claims handling) A$199.8m million – up 15.7%
Policyholder numbers 161,303 – up 3.2% - driven by group and adviser channels
Gross margin percentage 39.5% - down 130 basis points
Net margin percentage 9.9% - up 210 basis points
nib NZ Chief Executive Officer, Rob Hennin said
“It’s been a good year again for the New Zealand business, where we have increased the number of policyholders and maintained the value we offer nib members… We’ve added a new business, OrbitProtect, and our life and living business is performing well.”
More daily news:
Katrina Shanks writes about the benefits advisers deliver clients
Andrew Bayly says the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act (CCCFA) has become a social issue
Kendall Flutey talks about improving New Zealanders' financial literacy
Happy anniversary to the Chatswood MoneyBlog
This blog is nine years old today! We have a focused mission - to provide news to the life and health insurance community that we serve. That covers insurers, advisers, consultants, compliance people, educators and anyone who is interested in the sector. We love the work we do and it has been a privilege to see the blog grow in readership and engagement. You folks keep showing up and talking to us about the sector - as well as catching our journalism at Asset Magazine, and www.goodreturns.co.nz and very occasionally, other places too.
If you are interested in building a blog we consider it our obligation to help out. Although ours is a small example, we are happy to share our experience to help you get started. If you have something to say about the sector drop me a line. Maybe I should write about it - or maybe you should and I'll see if I can post it. We love to hear from you.