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.
AIA launches online adviser onboarding application
AIA NZ has launched AIA Adviser Onboarding, an online application for advisers that want to distribute AIA products. AIA Adviser Onboarding provides a pathway into the AIAHub portal and is a 100% digital experience. Benefits of the new system include:
· quicker processing times;
· reduced manual interventions and handovers;
· automated workflow, identity and due diligence checks which allows advisers to get started on mandatory learning in the AIAHub while their applications are in progress;
· advisers being able to upload education and professional development certifications into AIAHub once they submit their application; and
· ease of tracking applications.
More daily news:
AIA has appointed Smartshares to manage its closed unit-linked policies
Asteron Life's Mental Health Disability Management Program has had 31 referrals since inception
Katrina Shanks writes how automating expense payments can help you keep your finances organised
FMA's latest KiwiSaver annual report finds KiwiSaver reaches $94 billion in March 2023
Strategi finds inadequate record keeping is one of the most common compliance issues
The Adviser Platform team has won AIA’s Licensee Award for Business Innovation to Adviser Services
MDRT Roadshow coming to Auckland and Christchurch
What is MDRT?
Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT) is a global, independent association of life insurance and financial services professionals. They have more than 66,000 members from more than 700 companies across 80 nations and territories. MDRT offers a variety of virtual and in-person networking events, peer mentoring options, volunteering opportunities and educational materials to help industry professionals aim higher and achieve more. Members must demonstrate “…exceptional professional knowledge, strict ethical conduct and outstanding client service”.
When are the roadshows?
The MDRT Roadshow is on in October featuring keynote presentations from Nick Longo, a financial adviser and Rico Gomes, a high-performance mental health coach; a member spotlight; and professional development insights.
Auckland: 9:30am October 17 at Ellerslie Racecourse. Register here.
Christchurch: 9:30am October 18 at Addington Racecourse. Register here.
More daily news:
Fred Ohlsson talks about the challenges of selling an advice business
nib survey finds 49% of parents said financial uncertainty is main source of household stress
Katrina Shanks responds to National's pledge to rollback CCCFA
Benefits and concerns of using AI in the financial services industry
KiwiSaver report shows total scheme funds under management $93.6 billion as at March 31
Southern Cross responds to accusations it dropped a $60k benefit without informing customers or advisers
Southern Cross has refuted a Good Returns article where advisers complained about not being informed about Southern Cross dropping a $60,000 a year benefit for non-surgical hospitalisations.
Southern Cross removed the non-surgical hospitalisation benefit as part of the Society’s benefit review in 2020, and Southern Cross’ head of customer strategy and experience, Nic Johnson has said that “Members were communicated with at the time of the benefit change.”
Johnson said that Southern Cross advisers were informed of the changes at the time via a virtual meeting, and that the company’s adviser gateway portal to manage their customers’ policies had information on the changes also.
Johnson said
“The original intention of the non-surgical hospitalisation benefit was as a 'catch-all' for eligible healthcare services that required in-hospital medical treatment. Based on a 2019 review of our claims data, which showed that the benefit was not widely utilised, it was assessed that this benefit was no longer fit-for-purpose.”
“The majority of medical (or hospitalisation) claims at the time were already covered under existing benefits, such as the surgical procedures, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and diagnostic tests/imaging benefits.”
We have commented on the change here.
Quality Product Research are in the process of conducting a review of the score for the feature, giving Southern Cross time to respond with more details of equivalent benefits being present in other parts of the medical insurance. We will raise the results of the review with our Southern Research Advisory Board next month – and update research subscribers immediately.
More daily news:
Katrina Shanks writes about whether cryptocurrencies are a safe investment
Rob Hennin talks about why he loves working in the insurance sector
Southern Cross funds the ‘Under One Umbrella’ report on mental health and addictions
nib publishes their top five medical claims for July
Legal and regulatory update for the life and health insurance sector
31 Aug 2023 - Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) (Improving Mental Health Outcomes) Amendment Bill introduced to Parliament. This bill amends the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act 2022 to better enable the long-term planning and delivery that is required to improve mental health and addiction outcomes. https://bills.parliament.nz/v/6/955109f7-830e-4b94-2089-08dba9b9dfac?Tab=history
4 Sep 2023 - RBNZ publish Kerry Beaumont's speech '(Another) Seismic Shift in New Zealand: Banking regulatory reform - the Deposit Takers Act 2023" https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/hub/news/2023/09/evolving-financial-services-regulation-brings-rbnz-closer-to-international-best-practice
4 Sep 2023 - The Department of Internal Affairs has released a statement "If you have not filed your annual AML/CFT report by 31 August 2023, you are in breach of with your legal obligations under the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009." https://www.dia.govt.nz/AML-CFT-ITK-Annual-AML-CFT-reports-are-now-overdue.
4 Sep 2023 - The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) are running free goAML training sessions in Hamilton and Tauranga on Tuesday 19 September https://www.dia.govt.nz/AML-CFT-Free-GoAML-Training-for-Hamilton-and-Tauranga
5 Sep 2023 - A cross-sector thematic review of regulated entities’ governance practices by RBNZ and the FMA has highlighted the need for boards to be focused on continuous improvement to ensure future success. https://www.fma.govt.nz/news/all-releases/media-releases/rbnz-and-fma-governance-thematic-review-outlines-good-practices-and-areas-for-improvement/
Q&A with Akira Yamashita and Satoshi Shimasaki from Partners Life
We’ve had the pleasure of talking to Akira Yamashita, Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Satoshi Shimasaki, Deputy Chief of Finance who were both integral to the sale of Partners Life to Dai-ichi Life Holdings, Inc.
Q&A with Akira Yamashita Partners Life Deputy Chief Executive Officer
Could you outline the path your career has taken?
I joined Dai-ichi Life over 25 years ago. I have worked in various companies and countries but I have always worked for the Dai-ichi Life group. My career started in the sales branch office where I was part of the sales promotion team for 3 years. This is where I learned the basics of insurance sales activity. For the next 5 years, I worked as an economist. I forecasted the upcoming economic conditions and researched and analysed certain economic topics. This gave me good experience and the skill set to understand macro-economic insights which is still useful for me when considering various strategies.
In the last 20 years, I’ve been engaged in overseas (from Japan) business. This started from New York for 3 years as corporate administrator, Mumbai (India) for 4 years as the head of financial planning & budget control, Sydney (Australia) for 4 years as manager of the Finance team to support the implementation of strategic initiatives and development of a sound business plan. I also spent time in the head office in Tokyo working on the preparation and implementation of further global governance structure development. In addition, I established an intermediate holding company to create strategic proposals for both the business and talent strategies.
Now I am here in Auckland as Deputy CEO of Partners Life, to bridge the various interactions/relationships between shareholder “Dai-ichi Life Holdings” and Partners Life.
What attracted you to the insurance industry?
I want to spend my working days feeling fulfilled from being engaged with helping people. There are many jobs that can provide this, but I believe more in the business that can provide support in a timely manner when people are struggling or need help. What I like about the Life Insurance industry is that people’s lives might move along with nothing to worry about, but life insurance comes into play when they suffer financially if the person responsible for the household income and expenses has fallen ill or died. Also, these days I’ve found that “health and wellbeing” initiatives are an attractive addition by industry players.
Tell us about your time at Partners Life so far.
It has been almost half a year since I joined Partners Life. I still feel fresh to this organisation and excited to catch up and try new things. The operating and management style of the company is very efficient and effective overall, and this could be worth sharing with our Dai-ichi group companies.
How would you describe the culture at Partners Life?
The decisions we make are always based on “Do the right thing”, which is one of our corporate values. People in Partners Life use their energy to help provide the appropriate outcome to our client, rather than just aiming for our company growth. There is no strong hierarchy but a flat open forum to discuss and decide things, and I see this as a strength of this organisation.
What is one thing you wish someone had told you when you were younger?
No one had told me how much our daily lives would be driven by technology, such as online transactions, and AI coming in to play. I would have been grateful if someone had told me to study science when I was considering my major in university.
Q&A with Satoshi Shimasaki Partners Life Deputy Chief of Finance
Could give us an overview of your career to date?
I’m currently working for the Post Merger Integration at Partners Life, as a liaison officer. Before joining Partners Life, I was the head of M&A at Dai-ichi Life Holdings, responsible for strategic planning and executing M&A in overseas business.
I started my career in international legal practice. After experiencing an internship program at Prudential Financial (US), where I learned the US life and annuity operation, I joined the Planning and M&A team at Dai-ichi HQ. As a core member of the transaction team, I helped achieve multiple deals. My role in the early days was legal/documentation and negotiation, then I gradually expanded my playing field to accounting, finance, and finally, entire project management. I was one of the three negotiation members of Dai-ichi’s iconic M&A in the US back in 2014, and after completing that I spent three years with the M&A team of the US subsidiary. I have a strong connection with the Australian subsidiary’s transaction team, with whom I accomplished two joint M&As in Australia recently. I graduated magna cum laude from Columbia Business School in 2017.
What attracted you to the insurance industry?
While I was at university, the insurance industry seemed to be complicated and this stimulated my passion.
Tell us about your time at Partners Life so far.
Since day one, I’ve been enjoying working with my amazing colleagues. Personally, I love being in Takapuna, which is far different from where I came from (Tokyo & New York).
How would you describe the culture at Partners Life?
Always restless and generous by nature, as shown in the company values. It is like a Cessna plane with a jumbo jet engine.
What is one thing you wish someone had told you when you were younger?
Make a side trip on the way. Don’t rush. Detours sometimes make your life better.
More daily news:
Complaints to FSCL rose by 25% to 1,349 in the year to 30 June 2023
Voice deepfakes are the latest scammers trick
FSC Young people and the cost of living crisis research launch 28 September
Microinsurance continues to grow globally
Centrix finds Buy now, pay later is the most common first debt product among people under 25
Highlights from nib’s 2023 Community Report
nib has released their 2023 Community Report, highlighting community initiatives across New Zealand and Australia delivered by nib, the nib foundation and employee volunteering and fundraising. The nib foundation is nib’s charitable organisation that focuses on helping people and communities live healthier lives. Some of the highlights include:
As part of the nib foundation’s Prevention Partnerships program, that aims to tackle risky behaviour, nib launched the Clearhead Finding Purpose tool in NZ.
Nib donated $20,000 to KiwiHarvest to distribute food relief to those affected by the Auckland floods and Cyclone Gabrielle. KiwiHarvest donated 57,000 portions of fresh produce.
Members, employees and the public voted for which local charity partner should receive a share of $30,000 as part of celebrating nib NZ’s 10th birthday – Ronald McDonald House received $15,000, KiwiHarvest received $10,000 and Clearhead received $5,000.
More than 8,500 members used Clearhead’s Finding Purpose tool.
Glen Eden Intermediate won a $10,000 cheque from the nib Little Legends $10k relay for their junior rugby team.
nib were the naming rights sponsor for nib IronMāori TOA, 17-hour event that includes a 3.8km ocean swim, 180km cycle and 42.2 km run.
nib were the naming rights sponsor of the nib Blues wāhine team and they donated $11,500 worth of specialist recovery equipment to the team.
Shannon Leota and Katelyn Vaha’akolo were each the recipients of a $5,000 nib Blues Health & Wellbeing Scholarship.
nib partnered with Save the Children, to help families in Ukraine gain access to essentials, such as, food, clean water and basic hygiene supplies; as well as cash grants, emergency services and mental health support.
Removed weeds and rescued trees with Conservation Volunteers New Zealand at Papakura stream and Sanders Reserve.
Nib staff collected and delivered Christmas presents to those in need with The Blues and the Salvation Army.
Packaged around 3,500kgs of food to deliver to local community kitchens and people in need across Auckland.
Overall across NZ and Australia, nib group delivered $6.6 million in community funding and over 1,500 volunteer hours.
More daily news:
‘5 mins with FMA’ podcast #7: Phony investment scams and how to protect yourself
FSC Trans Tasman Strategic Leaders Summit 5 - 7 March, Auckland
FSC webinar 'How’s the mental health of your network?' 19 September
Melanie Gorham believes level-5 has shrunk the NZ insurance broking talent pool
FMA has four strategic priorities over the next year
Katrina Shanks talks about what an organisations online presence has in common with quality advice
Kiwibank is rolling out a financial wellbeing programme for its staff
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
Ultra-Processed Foods and their negative impact on health
Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are getting a (deservedly) bad rap. Often high in fats, sugar and/or salt, they are energy-dense and nutrient-poor. They have generally undergone intense processes (like high-temperature extrusion or hydrogenation) and usually contain food additives and/or industrial ingredients like colours, artificial flavours, emulsifiers and preservatives. If you don’t recognise some of the ingredients on the label as food, then it’s likely to be an UPF. They are manufactured to be cheap, convenient and have a long shelf life.
They’re ubiquitous in our food chains. Walk the aisles of your local supermarket and so much of what is on the shelves can be considered a UPF. They can be foods mistakenly considered healthy (flavoured yoghurts, cereals) to products we all know aren’t good for us (here’s looking at you, fizzy drinks and frozen pizza). Some estimates have found more than half our diet is now composed of UPFs.
During a cost of living crisis, UPFs can often be a cheap, quick way of filling bellies – not everyone can afford to avoid them or has the time to cook meals from scratch every day.
So why should we limit our intake of UPFs?
In a 2020 review of 43 studies on UPF consumption and health outcomes, 37 studies found at least one adverse health outcome. There’s increasing evidence linking UPF intake and chronic conditions, in particular obesity, but also cancer and depressive symptoms. Studies have found that people who consume more UPFs have higher risks of cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease, and cerebrovascular disease. Studies following large groups have worrying conclusions
2019 BMJ study of more than 105,000 people followed for five years found that for every 10% increase in the amount of ultra-processed foods participants ate, their risk of heart attack or stroke went up by 12%. And another 2019 BMJ study, this one involving almost 20,000 people followed for 10 years on average, found that participants who ate more than four servings of ultra-processed foods per day had a 62% higher risk of dying during the study (from any cause) compared with those who ate two servings per day.
There’s evidence that UPFs are very addictive. They’re engineered to be hyper-palatable so you want to eat more of them. Vast amounts of money are spent by food manufacturers, fine-tuning formulations to find the best taste. Research has found some UPFs can elicit cravings, loss of control and an inability to cut back. There’s also increasing evidence that a diet high in UPFs leads to increased energy intake and weight gain.
Even the packaging can be a concern, with one study finding higher consumers of UPF had higher urinary concentrations of phthalates and bisphenols that may have migrated from the food packaging.
With UPFs being compared to other public health crises like tobacco and opioids, some groups are calling for public health interventions that go beyond education, saying that UPFs meet the criteria requiring regulation – abuse, toxicity, ubiquity and externalities (how does your consumption affect me?).
My pick is we’re going to start seeing more backlash against UPFs as more research showing how bad they are for us comes out.
More daily news:
Katrina Shanks has tricks to stop credit card debt from snowballing
Another review of the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act (CCCFA) is to be carried out
Lawsuit against Asteron Life junked by the Court of Appeals
ASB's profit was $1.56 billion in the 12 months to the end of June
Longitudinal study finds overall improvement in financial literacy in young kiwis
The FDA has approved the first pill for treatment of postpartum depression
Research finds those in disadvantaged neighbourhoods have to travel further to reach public green spaces
As section sizes continue to decrease and more people end up living in homes with little to no backyards, are we inadvertently causing further deprivation for those from disadvantaged backgrounds?
Newsroom conducted some research using mobile phone data investigating the ease of access to green spaces. They measured distances between homes and the nearest park and found that people living in neighbourhoods with a higher concentration of social housing had further to travel to get to a park than people from neighbourhoods with minimal social housing.
Extensive research has shown that people from disadvantaged backgrounds are at a higher risk of health problems because of their social and economic circumstances, and the lack of access to green spaces in cities is a significant factor contributing to these health disparities. Limited access to green spaces means limited opportunities for physical activity, which can have detrimental consequences, and consequently strain our social and healthcare systems and our collective wellbeing.
It doesn’t seem a great leap of logic to think that in densely populated areas, there should be more access to public parks. It makes me wonder, is unequal access to green spaces contributing to health disparities? And if so, is there a moral imperative for local and national government to act to provide more equitable access to these public spaces?
More daily news:
Tony Vidler writes about some of the most important principles in the advice process
David Greenslade believes majority of FAPs are compliant, but are taking a challenging route
RegTechNZ: Simplifying CPD processes is on 23 August in Auckland
Government announces funding of $73 million for Nelson Hospital redevelopment
Fidelity life appoints Giselle Baker as Head of Data and Analytics
Fidelity Life has appointed Giselle Baker as Head of Data and Analytics. Chief Financial Officer Simon Pennington says
“Giselle’s experience in leading and developing advanced analytics and reporting for some of the world’s biggest consulting and financial services entities will be invaluable as our new data platform nears completion. Under Giselle’s leadership, our Data and Analytics team will deliver improved insights for the entire business and ultimately help us fulfil our purpose to give New Zealanders certainty to enjoy a more rewarding life.”
Giselle has been working overseas for the last 20 years, most recently as Director, Data and Analytics at FTI Consulting, and Senior Vice President, Global Management Information (MI) and Data Analytics at Citigroup.
More daily news:
Partners Life introduces pricing changes
Partners Life introduce series of short guides for FAPs to manage their licencing obligations
Fidelity Life launch Insurance 101 toolkit
Chubb Life introduce Assurance Extra Business product and introduce 10% lifetime discount
AIA is calling on advisers to take part in the 2023 New Zealand Adviser Wellbeing Research
Katrina Shanks writes about how businesses can pivot in face of consumer confidence crisis
Ian Clancy talks of how NZ has an underinsurance problem
Southern Cross placed ninth on Kantar’s Corporate Reputation Index 2023
CERT NZ reports 66% increase in direct financial loss from cybercrime compared to Q4 2022
Report finds more seniors in New Zealand are expecting to delay retirement due to the cost of living
Financial Advice NZ’s Out Of The Box seminars tickets offered at a $40 discount until 30 June