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.
2023 at Quality Product Research Limited
As always, we’ve had the chance to investigate some topical themes in our quarterly reports, highlights this year being: a discussion on using AI in financial advice, particularly ChatGPT and its challenges, limitations and factual errors; an analysis identifying how many financial advisers are connected to each financial advice provider and another on how many financial advice providers and financial advisers there are; just how much an adviser tech stack can cost; and exploration of causes for lapses in the NZ insurance market.
We haven’t been resting on our laurels here, with loads of product enhancements delivered this year including our shiny new website and branding. Quotemonster have made a series of upgrades including completing our two-factor authentication (2FA) process, adding a Remote Assistance function, improved the Advicemonster Quote Wizard, added a beta Upload Insurance Quote function that will automatically input in your Quotemonster Client and Benefit Details, established the Quotemonster Advisory Board, held a Nationwide Quotemonster roadshow across 15 towns (and online too!) with over 1100 people registering to attend (see some pics below), made legacy research live on Quotemonster and added business insurance to Advicemonster. Phew!
We’ve welcomed Kim Oliver and Aneel Ravji to the QPR team. Kim is our new Research and Customer Service superstar and helps keep the research database up to date and supports advisers with their queries. Aneel is our AdviceTech lead and his role is assisting advisers with their advice process – if you have any questions about what Advice Monster can do for you and your business, contact Aneel today.
We’ve loved exploring wider industry news on the blog, with some favourites this year being AI’s disruptive influence on the global economy; opportunities for advisers and how Australia’s Federal Government is seeking feedback on the use of genetic test results by insurers.
We want to say a huge thank you from the Chatswood and QPR teams. We have thoroughly enjoyed working with you over the past year and look forward to another exciting year in 2024. A reminder that our office will be closed from the 22 December 2023 – 8 January 2024.
We hope you all have a wonderful break, and we look forward to working with you in 2023.
Best wishes, from all the team at Chatswood and Quality Product Research.
Partners Life announces new CEO
Partners Life has announced that Michael Weston will be appointed CEO following Naomi Ballantyne’s departure.
Partners Life has announced that Michael Weston will be appointed CEO following Naomi Ballantyne’s departure. Weston is currently working as Head of Transformation and Strategy for Manulife Asia. Weston will start the new role on 4 March next year, leaving time for a handover from Ballantyne before she retires from Partners Life on 31 March.
Partners Life Board Chair, Jim Minto says
“Michael’s extensive background in Financial Services Operational, Transformational, and Strategy roles, coupled with his in-depth knowledge of multiple international markets makes him an ideal candidate to continue Partners Life’s journey of using intelligent innovation and excellent execution to deliver outstanding customer and stakeholder value.”
More daily news:
Asteron Life sees more than 150% growth in employee insurance schemes over a five-year period
Financial advisers’ mental health and wellbeing has improved, though still worse than the average NZ worker
AIA NZ has released a report looking into financial advisers’ health and wellbeing, following on from the research they sponsored in 2021. While overall wellbeing showed signs of improvement, stress was still a concerning factor.
AIA NZ has released a report looking into financial advisers’ health and wellbeing, following on from the research they sponsored in 2021. While overall wellbeing showed signs of improvement, stress was still a concerning factor. In 2021, government regulation was the highest cause of stress for advisers (61%); this year’s highest stressor was compliance, with 50% of respondents rating it as ‘highly’ or ‘very highly’ stressful. In both years, work overload was the second most stressful issue (at 42.2% in 2021 and 36.7% in 2023).
The number of advisers who have said they will continue in the industry has increased significantly, up to 93% from 84% in 2021. Work life balance has improved, with 37.2% of those surveyed working 35 to 40 hours per week and 8% less working over 50 hours per week compared to 2021.
The report includes a breakdown of where advisers spend their time, showing the wide variety of tasks that make up an adviser’s job. Only 12.23% of their time is spent on actually providing advice.
Recommendations for improving wellbeing and mental health include: seek help from industry support services; be an active member in networks; engage in recovery activities like exercise, meditation, hobbies, social activities; seek admin help to free up time to focus on client work; use systems that automate processes; get support from counsellors or psychologists when experiencing mental stress; minimise crossovers between work and home; and focus on the business.
Sharron Botica, AIA NZ Chief Partnership Distribution Officer, says
“…it’s encouraging to see signs of improvement across the board, however, the impact that stress is having on adviser health and wellbeing is a concerning factor which needs to be addressed,”
“We believe our role as leaders in the industry is to ensure our advisers have the tools and support to be mentally healthy, focus on their wellbeing, and have the opportunity to thrive and do what they do best every day.”
The research was conducted by Dr Adam Fraser, founder of The e-lab, and Dr John Molineux from Deakin University and participants included life and health insurance advisers, business owners, home loan advisers, investment advisers, risk advisers, sole trader advisers, and general advisers, aged 18 to over 60, who were either qualified, partly-qualified, or unqualified.
More daily news:
Financial Advice NZ webinar 'Super Wednesday' 7 February
NZIER predicts general slowdown for NZ economy
Bell Gully give overview of RBNZ’s proposed policy recommendations for amendments to IPSA
Boutique investment managers want FMA compliance expectations scaled back
Legal and regulatory update for the life and health insurance sector
11 Dec 2023 - The Reserve Bank of New Zealand publish an Analytical Note, looking at how New Zealand households’ inflation expectations respond to changing prices - what inflation is now and how that shapes what people think it will be in future. The Note found that household inflation expectations are more sensitive to inflation when it goes above 2 to 2.5 percent. https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/hub/news/2023/12/households-tend-to-pay-more-attention-to-inflation-when-it-is-high
12 Dec 2023 - The Reserve Bank of New Zealand have published the annual updated weights for the Trade Weighted Index https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/hub/news/2023/12/updated-weights-for-trade-weighted-index
12 Dec 2023 - APRA has released updated requirements for banks to better manage the impact of interest rate changes on their financial position. In a response to its November 2022 consultation released today, APRA has updated its revisions to Prudential Standard APS 117 Interest Rate Risk in the Banking book (IRRBB) aimed at:
reducing some of the volatility in the IRRBB capital charge;
creating better incentives for banks to manage their IRRBB risk, including raising standards of governance and measurement of risk; and
simplifying and removing complexities in the IRRBB framework.
13 Dec 2023 - Reserve Bank of New Zealand (Economic Objective) Amendment Bill has gone to Committee of Whole House https://bills.parliament.nz/v/6/c2a1d856-adc2-4b6a-19e5-08dbfadead1f?Tab=history
Asteron Life sees uptick in lapse rates
Asteron Life’s executive general manager Grant Willis spoke to Good Returns about increasing lapse rates, levels offerings and changing adviser profiles.
Asteron Life’s executive general manager Grant Willis spoke to Good Returns about increasing lapse rates, levels offerings and changing adviser profiles.
Anecdotally, advisers are starting to see more household budgets under financial pressure. Willis said Asteron Life is seeing more cancellations and alterations to policies to reduce premiums and/or scale the sum insured back, despite having one of the best lapse rates in the industry. Willis highlights the importance of product flexibility during times such as these, with Asteron Life customers being able to pick different levels of cover, level of yearly renewable term and even the availability of inbuilt premium holidays that customers can take under specific pressure.
Willis talks about how he’s seeing a lot of new advisers coming though, younger people and perhaps people in second careers, plus children following their parents into financial advice.
More daily news:
FMA release the results of its annual Ease of Doing Business survey
Lifetime webinar 'Invest In Your Tomorrow: Enhance Your Financial Wellbeing' Dec 14
Gallagher Insurance is a new sponsor of the 103rd New Zealand Open
Foundation Advice Ltd owes around $8 million
Graeme Lindsay talks about the best health insurance to have
The FMA had an almost $6 million surplus for the 12 months to June 30
Research and website upgrades: what you need to know
QPR Database V15.6 has been released! Our Research team have made some monstrously good updates to the QPR database recently.
QPR Database V15.6 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.15.6 | WEB V4.5.5
Our latest updates to Researchmonster include:
- Partners Life - new policy document for personal and business V19 effective 06/10/2023
- AIA - new policy document for AIA Living Personal/Business Life and Trauma effective 10/10/2023
o rating changes applied to:
· Life: ‘Grief & Funeral Support’
· Trauma: ‘Child Trama’ age, ‘HIV’, and ‘Advanced AIDS’
- ASB - new policy documents and rating changes applied to:
o IP/MP Lifestyle Security effective 31/07/2023
o Life and Trauma effective 10/10/2023
- Fidelity Life - enhancements effective 23/11/2023 and rating changes applied to:
o Life, Life Income, TPD, Trauma: ‘Special events’
o Life: ‘Grief & Funeral Support’ (reflects the introduction of the new Repatriation Benefit)
- MAS - new policy documents and rating changes applied to:
o Professional Life Plan effective 01/06/2023
· Life: ‘Grief & Funeral Support’
· TPD: ‘Counselling & Support Benefits’
· Trauma: ‘Child Trauma’, ‘Grief & Support Benefits’, ‘Upgrade Policy Wording’
o Income Security effective 28/08/2023
· Income Protection: ‘Dependent Leave Without Pay’, ‘Death Benefit’
- Unimed - new policy document effective 01/08/2023 and rating changes applied to:
· Minor Surgery
· Physiotherapy
- Reviews:
o Life: ‘Exclusions’
o Mortgage Protection: ‘Offsets’
o Trauma: ‘Cardiac Arrest’, ‘Future Insurability’, ‘Angioplasty’, ‘Diagnosis and Partial Benefits’
o Medical: ‘Overseas Treatment’, ‘Surgical Benefit’, ‘Mental Health Support, ‘GP Minor Surgery’, ‘Imaging’
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 head to head 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 Health Benefit Maximums report available to Researchmonster and Advicemonster users, has also been updated to align with the updates in our research database. 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!
Legal and regulatory update for the life and health insurance sector
10 Dec 2023 - The Australian Labor government will create a new regulation-lite category of ‘qualified advisers’ as part of controversial reforms unwrapped last week. Banks, insurers, superannuation funds and others will be able to employ advisers under looser regulatory controls than professional counterparts. Qualified advisers will focus on providing simple financial advice, will be prohibited from charging a fee and from receiving a commission, and they will be required to meet a Government-mandated education standard. https://investmentnews.co.nz/investment-news/reg-lite-institutional-advice-proposal-divides-australian-industry/
11 Dec 2023 - The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has confirmed that New Zealand’s largest banks are now compliant with their Outsourcing Policy (BS11). https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/hub/news/2023/12/major-banks-compliant-with-rbnz-outsourcing-policy
Legacy product rating projects (an update)
As of 8 December 2023, the following legacy product research is available in our Standalone Head to Head.
As of 8 December 2023, the following legacy product research is available in our Standalone Head to Head:
• ANZ Life and Living 2015, 2016, 2017, 2020
• ANZ Lifestyle Protection 2009, 2010
• Cigna LifeOne 2014
• Co-Operative Bank 2013
• Countdown Life 2014
• MAS 2016, 2018
• Momentum Life 2019
• nib Premier Health 2017
• nib Easy Health 2018
• nib Top Private Hospital Cover Plus 2017
• nib Stay Well Classic 1996
• nib Private Hospital Silver 2017
• nib Hospital Cover EasyCare 2017
• NZ Seniors 2022
• OneChoice 2019, 2021
• Southern Cross Regular Care 2018
• Southern Cross Ultra Care 2021
• Westpac Gold Term 2010, 2012, 2017
• Westpac Term 1990-1995,1995-2000
The following legacy product research has 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 or have a product that you believe we should rate, please reach out to us on info@quotemonster.co.nz
• AA Life 2009, 2016, 2018, 2017, 2019, 2022
• ANZ Life and Living 2010, 2018
• ANZ Lifestyle Protection 2004, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2015
• ANZ Lifestyle Insurance 2014, 2015
• AMP Vital Plus Crisis 2020
• ASB Absolute Health 2012
• ASB Lifestyle Security 2007
• Asteron Smart Life 2004
• BNZ Flexi Card 2014, 2015
• BNZ BillAssure 2005
• BNZ Men’s ReCover 2004
• Cigna Bill Protection 2018
• Cigna LifeOne 2015
• Cigna Farmers Finance 1996/1998
• Co-operative Life 2018
• Greenwich Life 2018
• Guardian Assurance 1996
• Kiwibank 2010, 2018
• MAS 2013, 2017, 2021
• Mercer Bill Protection 2016
• nib Premier Health Business 2017
• nib Premium Hospital 2017
• nib Standard Hospital 2017
• nib Life & Living 2017
• NZHL 2019, 2021
• Pinnacle Life 2010
• SBS Bank 2014
• Sovereign Absolute Health 2010
• Tower Life 360 2011
• Westpac Gold Term 2018
• Westpac Term 2007, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017
FSC’s latest Money & You research finds a perception gap between financial confidence and financial literacy
The Financial Services Council (FSC) have released their latest Money & You research findings. The research found a ‘perception gap’, with 82% of people feeling financially confident yet only 62% of people showing a real understanding of the four financial concepts tested.
The Financial Services Council (FSC) have released their latest Money & You research findings.
The research found a ‘perception gap’, with 82% of people feeling financially confident yet only 62% of people showing a real understanding of the four financial concepts tested.
Worryingly, the research found that 56% of New Zealanders aged 18 or older aren’t financially prepared for retirement, with that figure shooting up to 69% of women not feeling prepared for retirement. We are really keen to see this broken down by age group in future as we would expect most young people to feel the least prepared, and some of the group just pre-retirement to feature more of the better prepared. The fact that the figure rises sharply for women is probably a good reflection of the larger retirement gap that women face due to longer lives combined with, often, a gender pay gap, and also often, career disruption due to having children, which tends to make preparing for that retirement more difficult.
Of those in KiwiSaver, 42% are only contributing the minimum 3%, and 64% of employers are contributing the minimum 3% – leaving a vast gap between projected KiwiSaver funds at retirement and what’s needed for a ‘no frills’ retirement. It is hoped that other preparations are being made - such as paying off a home and investing in other ways. In practice we know that with a very high cost housing fewer will have paid off homes and that will also reduce the scope for non-KiwiSaver savings and investments for many.
The current cost of living is impacting people’s insurance buying behaviour. When it came to life insurance, the report found that expense was the highest reason for not purchasing insurance (63%) and 57% of respondents said they would take out an insurance policy if they had more money. 55% of people who had previously had health insurance have said that the cost of living is so high they can no longer afford it.
More daily news:
MAS are recruiting for a Healthy Practice Adviser in Wellington
Tony Dench calls on the government to give considered and deliberate engagement with the sector
Bruce Patten says he's seeing more people cancelling insurances
Legal and regulatory update for the life and health insurance sector
7 Dec 2023 - The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has published findings of a survey on the sustainability of group life insurance in superannuation, undertaken by a sample of registrable superannuation entity (RSE) licensees, life insurers and reinsurers. https://www.apra.gov.au/news-and-publications/apra-releases-findings-of-survey-on-life-insurance-superannuation
8 Dec 2023 - The FMA has released findings from their annual monitoring of the audit regulatory systems and processes of the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants (NZICA). https://www.fma.govt.nz/library/reports-and-papers/accredited-body-report-new-zealand-institute-of-chartered-accountants/
8 Dec 2023 - The FMA has released findings from their annual monitoring of the audit regulatory systems and processes of CPA Australia. https://www.fma.govt.nz/library/reports-and-papers/accredited-body-report-cpa-australia/
8 Dec 2023 - The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has reminded retailers to train new cash handlers on fake note detection https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/hub/news/2023/12/reserve-bank-reminds-retailers-to-train-new-cash-handlers-on-fake-note-detection