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.
Industry-relevant changes as new government is ushered in
With Labour soon to hand over control to a National and ACT led government (perhaps with support from NZ First), the question on everyone’s lips is what does this mean for our sector?
National have previously come out against the proposed Income Insurance Scheme, with Christopher Luxon calling the levies required to fund the scheme a ‘job tax’. One of National’s 100 day action plan pledges is to stop work on the so-called ‘job tax’. This change could be seen as a positive move as last year Risk Info NZ ran a poll with 80% of respondents not supporting the introduction of a state-backed income insurance scheme.
National promised to repeal the Conduct of Financial Institutions Act (CoFI), due to come into force in March 2025, which they’ve said “makes credit more expensive and harder to obtain even for basic services such as overdrafts and mortgages”. Meanwhile, Katrina Shanks, chief executive of Financial Advice NZ, has said it would be ‘preferable’ to tweak CoFI, rather than scrap it altogether, as the industry is very supportive of legislation that endorses good conduct and culture within the sector.
National has promised to roll back measures brought in by Labour including the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act (CCCFA), with their rebuilding the economy plan saying they will “Cut financial red tape that is stifling investment, including significantly reducing the scope of the CCCFA which has restricted access to credit.”
National has said they will allow people to split their KiwiSaver between multiple providers, which they say will ‘drive innovation, boost competition and put downward pressure on fees’, though industry players have reservations around the complexity and added costs of doing this. Another tweak to the KiwiSaver scheme they have promised is allowing young people to use their retirement savings to pay a rental bond. Instead of tinkering with the scheme, the FSC is instead calling for a comprehensive review of KiwiSaver settings.
One of the agenda items on National’s 100 day action plan is to remove the Reserve Bank’s dual mandate (of managing inflation and supporting maximum sustainable employment) to get the RBNZ purely focused on getting inflation down to targeted levels.
From a health perspective, National’s 100 day action plan includes extending free breast cancer screening for women aged up to 74, from the current cutoff of 69 years of age. National have said they will allocate $280 million in ring-fenced funding to PHARMAC over four years to pay for 13 cancer treatments not currently funded in NZ. National have said they will deliver faster access to mental health services through their Mental Health Innovation Fund, which will initially see up to $20 million in matching funds distributed to community mental health organisations who are delivering strong results for Kiwis in need. They have pledged to extend free postnatal stays for mothers of newborn babies to three days and provide free continuous glucose monitors to type 1 diabetics aged under 18.
National’s five major targets for health will be:
· Shorter stays in emergency department – 95% of patients to be admitted, discharged or transferred from an emergency department within six hours.
· Faster cancer treatment – 85% of patients to receive cancer management within 31 days of the decision to treat.
· Improved immunisation – 95% of two-year-olds receiving their full age-appropriate immunisations.
· Shorter wait times for first specialist assessment – a meaningful reduction in the number of people waiting more than four months to see a specialist (target to be set in government).
· Shorter wait times for surgery – a meaningful reduction in the number of people waiting more than four months for surgery (target to be set in government).
To attract and retain more healthcare workers they have said they will incentivise more people to study nursing and midwifery with a bonding scheme that will pay their student loan for five years if they commit to working in New Zealand. They have said they will establish a relocation support scheme, offering up to 1000 qualified overseas nurses and midwives relocation grants worth up to $10,000 each to support their move to New Zealand. National have pledged to establish a third medical school at the University of Waikato, with satellite training centres in regional areas. They’ve also said they will increase the number of medical school placements at Auckland and Otago by a total of 50 per annum from 2025.
We will be closely following these proposals and will report back as and when things change.
More daily news:
Chubb Life underwriting masterclass 24 October
FMA publishes latest 'Money with Mary' about investing more ethically
NZ's annual inflation rate dropped to 5.6% in September, from 6.0% in June
More people worldwide are now dying of non-melanoma skin cancer than melanoma
AIA updates the benefits of its living products
AIA has released a raft of changes updating the benefits that apply to its living products covering critical conditions, progressive care, life cover, and family protection, including changes to selected closed Sovereign, TotalCareMax, AIA Trauma and AIA Life Cover products.
Some of the key changes, which are applicable to new claim events on or after 10 October 2023, include:
· The minimum coverage age for standalone children’s trauma has been lowered from two years to three months.
· Extension of the life buyback reinstatement period from 30 to 60 days.
· Removed the benefit for new business that pays on the diagnosis of medically or occupationally acquired HIV, and introduced a new benefit that pays on the diagnosis of advanced AIDS – regardless of transmission method.
· Changed the terminal illness definition to clarify that life expectancy is less than 12 months, despite all reasonable medical treatment.
· Increased bereavement support benefit from $15,000 to $25,000 in cases where there is joint policy ownership.
· Removed the 5% limit to pay up to $20,000 as an early payment if the life assured dies overseas to return their body to either New Zealand or their home country.
More daily news:
Partners Life has updated its underwriting guide
Southern Cross new naming rights sponsor of Wellington Round the Bays
nib says insurance can help families navigate increasing mental health concerns
MAS appoints Matt Harvey as Chief Distribution and Marketing Officer and Craig Ward as Chief Innovation and Digital Officer
FSC webinar 'Leading Lawyers Australia' 31 October
Jon-Paul Hale believes some providers are asking advisers for too much
ACC fund slips from ‘responsible investment leaders’ to ‘responsible investors’
New AI tool diagnoses brain tumours on the operating table and helps surgeons decide how to operate
Legal and regulatory update for the life and health insurance sector
12 Oct 2023 - The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) have published two joint discussion papers on plans to enhance the data collections for the life and general insurance industries. APRA and ASIC plan to collect more granular data as part of the Insurance Data Transformation (IDT) project, which will enable regulators, policymakers and insurers to undertake a more comprehensive assessment of the risks facing the industries. APRA and ASIC invite written submissions on the discussion questions by 22 December 2023. https://www.apra.gov.au/news-and-publications/apra-and-asic-release-consultation-on-general-insurance-and-life-insurance
13 Oct 2023 - Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Hon Dr Duncan Webb, September 2023 diary released with no financial services sector related meetings noted https://www.beehive.govt.nz/sites/default/files/2023-10/September%202023%20Proactive%20Diary%20Hon%20Dr%20Duncan%20Webb.pdf
13 Oct 2023 - The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has published its Annual Report for the 2022-23 financial year. https://www.apra.gov.au/news-and-publications/apra-publishes-2022-23-annual-report
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 Wednesday, 18 October 2023 11:00 am-12:00 pm
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!
Research and website upgrades: what you need to know!
QPR Database V15.5 has been released!
Our Research team have made some monstrously good updates to the QPR database recently. If you’ve noticed we’re running a bit slower than usual, please refresh your page and scroll down to ensure that you’re on our latest version – QUOTE ENGINE V.3.0 B1 | QPR V.15.5 | WEB V4.5.1
Our latest updates to Researchmonster include:
- Medical claims model update
o claims scenario increased to $100K
o new benefits added: ‘Child Features’, ‘Skin Lesion Surgery’ and ‘Medical Tourism’
o item removed: ‘Product Flexibility’
o ‘Minor Surgery’ updated to ‘GP Minor Surgery’
- Chubb Life – new policy document for Assurance Extra Business Life, Trauma and TPD effective 26 June 2023
o rating changes applied
o standalone trauma cover added and rated
- Partners Life – TPD item in Trauma updated to optional effective 6 October 2023
- Accuro – new policy document for SmartCare and SmartCare+ effective 1 September 2023
- AIA – new policy document for AIA Living Umbrella, Income, and Mortgage Protection effective 31 July 2023
o rating changes applied to ‘Inflation Adjustment’
- AIA Legacy renamed to AIA Real
Reviews:
- Life Income: re-weight made to ‘Terminal Illness Booster’
- Trauma: remediation to ‘Cancer Benefit Booster’
- Income and Mortgage Protection: remediation to ‘Offsets’
- TPD: ‘TPD Main Cover Definition’ – revisions to make Any Occupation rating scale appropriate when considered alongside Own Occupation ratings
Standalone Head to Head is a powerful tool subscribers can use to:
- Compare legacy products for replacement business – a list of the products available in this feature can be found here
- Compare products from the same provider; e.g., AIA Critical Conditions vs Progressive Care
- Compare different product sets; e.g., Severe Trauma vs Comprehensive Trauma
- Quick research comparisons
Please note this feature is still in Beta version so please reach out to us if you have any feedback that you would like us to consider in our next round of development.
Our latest updates to Advicemonster include:
Business Insurance quoting, research and needs analysis functions for lump sum cover (Life, Trauma and TPD).
You can now produce a Business Statement of Advice (SOA) supported with pricing and research (on lump sum products only). If your organisation would like training on how to produce a Business SOA using Advicemonster, please contact us.
Please note this feature is still in Beta version so please reach out to us if you have any feedback that you would like us to consider in our next round of development.
A highly requested infographic Health Benefit Maximum is now available to Researchmonster and Advicemonster users and is in the Research Tools option in your main menu. This quick reference guide aims to help advisers quickly identify some of the important differences when it comes to health cover benefit maximums. It doesn't include every individual niche benefit that some insurers offer, and some benefits can only be claimed on under specific circumstances (e.g., within 12 months of surgery).
If you have any questions regarding these please feel free to email us on info@quotemonster.co.nz
Happy Crunching!
PWC summarise changes outlined by the CoFI regime
PWC have produced a useful summary of the key changes outlined by Financial Markets (Conduct of Financial Institutions) Amendment Act (CoFI), which was passed on 29 June 2022. License applications opened in July this year and CoFI will come into force in March 2025. The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) is working on regulations to support the CoFI regime, which are expected to be released later this year.
In short, the key aspects of the CoFI regime are:
· Promoting good conduct and culture.
· Complying with a set of duties and obligations that help protect customers and promote good conduct.
· Financial institutions need to be licensed by the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) to operate in New Zealand.
· The FMA has increase supervisory and enforcement powers.
· A focus on delivering good outcomes for customers.
Penalties for breaches of CoFI’s regulatory requirements include:
· The FMA taking enforcement action which could include imposing fines, giving directs to take corrective action or taking the institution in breach to court.
· Maximum penalties of $5 million for companies and $500,000 for individuals.
· The FMA could order compensation for customers.
· The FMA could suspend or cancel the licence of a financial institution.
· Reputational damage.
PWC set out a helpful guide of activities you can do now and in future to prepare for COFI. The FMA has information on Fair Conduct Programmes and more detailed information on CoFI, including how to apply for a financial institution licence here.
More daily news:
Sharron Botica shared what's behind AIA's Digital Agency functionality
Stimulating your brain can increase your resilience against developing dementia
nib release 2023 sustainability, community and climate-related disclosure reports
nib Group have released their 2023 sustainability, community and climate-related disclosure reports. Some highlights from the reports include:
· 25,990 HealthChecks were undertaken by nib members.
· Employee Experience Surveys in FY23 found an overall engagement score of 81%.
· 289 staff volunteered 1,546 hours across 14 charities.
· 34 suppliers completed continuous improvement plans to manage modern slavery risk.
· The strategic procurement team has taken a proactive step toward reducing nib’s carbon footprint by introducing environmental criteria into the Request for Proposal (RFP) process.
· nib introduced a new values-based employee recognition program where all employees have the opportunity to nominate their colleagues and vote on the most extraordinary achievements.
· nib worked with Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei to facilitate the ‘Cultural Coalition’ Program (Whatua te Aho Tukurua). This six-week program teaches participants Māori language and values, encouraging employees to integrate these learnings into regular work activities and practices.
· Gender pay equity gap has reduced to 2.75%.
· 985 Kiwis visited Clearhead’s Te Reo Māori website and chatbot
nib has identified climate-related risks including:
· increased market pressure to provide community support and insurance affordability for those experiencing climate hazards;
· increased illness & comorbidity due to chronic and compounding climate change hazard;
· trauma, illness, property destruction and disruption leading to high rates of psychological distress;
· increased incidents and severity of climate hazards causing pressure on discretionary income;
· chronic and compounding climate change impacts putting pressure on health services;
· energy and emissions performance standards creating compounding capital expenditure and operational costs;
· limitations of current regulatory and pricing mechanisms to respond to climate hazards;
· risk nib won’t meet growing mandatory reporting and regulatory requirements.
nib has developed a risk-management framework to manage and mitigate its material risks, and their board and management regularly identify and analyse risks and the effectiveness of the controls in place to manage these risks.
More daily news:
FinTech NZ is asking members to fill in their 2024 New Zealand Fintech Pulsecheck Survey
mySolutions webinar 'Roles and responsibilities of Directors' 9am 18 October
Open letter to Pharmac saying the chief executive and the chairman need to step down
Fidelity Life makes three key appointments in its Sales and Service team
Fidelity Life has made three key appointments in its Sales and Service Team. David Winspear (left) has been appointed to take on the newly created role of Head of Channel Strategy and Michelle Doyle (middle) has been appointed as the new Head of Solutions, both of whom will report to Fidelity Life’s Chief Sales and Service Officer Bronwyn Kirwan. Kylie Oldham (right) has been appointed as Senior Group Insurance Business Manager, and will report to Fidelity Life’s Head of Group Insurance, Anita Los’e.
David’s role will be leading the design and delivery of Fidelity Life’s channel strategy, delivering sustainable growth across its advisers and strategic alliance partners.
Michelle will be accountable for Fidelity Life’s adviser channel solutions, professional development programmes and their in-house adviser team.
Kylie will be responsible for developing Fidelity Life’s group insurance portfolio and expanding its market presence with new propositions, technology, sustainable pricing and commercial terms.
More daily news:
Partners Life is introducing a TPD option with its trauma cover products
FSC looking for an Event Project Lead and Marketing and Events Coordinator
nib partner with Revolutionaries of Wellbeing
Expressions of interest for the Gallagher Talent Programme 2024 are now open
Kiwibank agrees to pay an $812,500 penalty after it overcharged customers bank fees
Kiwibank recognised as a Gold, Silver and Bronze winner in the 2023 Best Awards
Fidelity Life share insights from key speakers at Engage Conference
Legal and regulatory update for the life and health insurance sector
4 Cct 2023 - FMA #9: Ethical Investing – World Investor Week special with Paul Gregory https://www.fma.govt.nz/library/podcast/5-mins-with-fma-podcast-9-ethical-investing-world-investor-week-special/
9 Oct 2023 - The ASIC Annual Forum is on 21–22 November 2023 in Melbourne. Early bird tickets are available now. https://asic.gov.au/about-asic/news-centre/news-items/asic-annual-forum-2023-last-chance-for-early-bird-pricing/
10 Oct 2023 - The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has issued a letter to all registrable superannuation entity (RSE) licensees on the revocation of superannuation standards. https://www.apra.gov.au/news-and-publications/apra-releases-letter-on-revocation-of-superannuation-standards-0
10 Oct 2023 - ASIC has made ASIC Corporations (Financial Reporting by Stapled Entities) Instrument 2023/673. The instrument continues the relief previously provided under ASIC Class Order [CO 13/1050] Financial reporting by stapled entities, which was subject to sunsetting on 1 October 2023. https://asic.gov.au/about-asic/news-centre/news-items/asic-remakes-financial-reporting-legislative-instrument/
10 Oct 2023 - ASIC has made ASIC Credit (Amendment) Instrument 2023/675, which extends the operation of ASIC Credit (Electronic Precontractual Disclosure) Instrument 2020/835 for a temporary period of 12 months until 1 October 2024, pending law reform. https://asic.gov.au/about-asic/news-centre/news-items/asic-extends-electronic-precontractual-disclosure-legislative-instrument/
10 Oct 2023 - Minister of Finance, Hon Grant Robertson, September 2023 diary released with no potential financial services sector related meetings noted. https://www.beehive.govt.nz/sites/default/files/2023-10/Ministerial%20Diary%20September%202023.pdf
10 Oct 2023 - The Quarterly Statement by the Council of Financial Regulators – October 2023 has been released. The Council discussed the current regulatory approach to protecting New Zealanders from financial scams, the regulatory approach to the credit unions and building societies sector, the Council’s coordinated approach to improving financial inclusion, and how the Council could better achieve and measure success in terms of its legislative mandate and the principles of good regulatory stewardship. https://www.cofr.govt.nz/news-and-publications/quarterly-statement-by-cofr-october-2023.html
11 Oct 2023 - The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has published four new updated frequently asked questions (FAQs) on the Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB17) collections. https://www.apra.gov.au/news-and-publications/apra-publishes-aasb17-updates-to-insurance-frequently-asked-questions
12 Oct 2023 - The Reserve Bank of New Zealand published its Annual Report covering the year from 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2023. https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/hub/news/2023/10/rbnz-releases-annual-report-2023
Standalone Head to Head: what legacy product ratings are available?
The following legacy product research is now available in our Standalone Head to Head:
• ANZ Life and Living 2015, 2016, 2017, 2020
• ANZ Lifestyle Protection 2009, 2010
• Co-Operative Bank 2013
• Countdown Life 2013
• MAS 2016
• Momentum Life 2019
• nib Premier Health 2017
• nib Easy Health 2018
• nib Top Private Hospital Cover Plus 2017
• nib Stay Well Classic 1996
• nib Hospital Cover EasyCare 2017
• NZ Seniors 2022
• OneChoice 2019, 2021
• Southern Cross Regular Care 2008, 2018
• Southern Cross Ultra Care 2021
• Westpac Gold Term 2010, 2012, 2017
• Westpac Term 1990-1995,1995-2000
The following legacy products have been rated and will be loaded to our Standalone Head to Head in the coming weeks – if you’re interested in a rating for one of these products please email us directly on info@quotemonster.co.nz
• AA Life 2016, 2018, 2017, 2022
• ANZ Life and Living 2010, 2016, 2018
• ANZ Lifestyle Protection 2008, 2011, 2015
• BNZ Flexi Card 2014, 2015
• BNZ BillAssure 2005
• Chubb Life Direct 2014
• Cigna Farmers Finance 1996/1998
• Guardian Assurance 1996
• Kiwibank 2010
• MAS 2013, 2017, 2021
• Mercer Bill Protection 2016
• nib Premier Health Business 2017
• NZHL 2019, 2021
• Tower Life 360
• Westpac Gold Term 2018
• Westpac Term 2007, 2011, 2013, 2014
