Demystifying Advicemonster [online training session]

Our first Advicemonster training session for 2024 has been scheduled!

Take your Statement of Advice (SOA) to the next level and join us on Wednesday, 17 January 2024 11:30 am-12:30 pm

In this session, we have an in-depth walk-through of our Statement of Advice service and how you can create a professional and comprehensive SOA. Be the first to learn about our recent enhancements and ongoing developments from our new AdviceTech Lead, Aneel Ravji. Our Needs analysis and SOA tools are exclusive to the Advicemonster subscription and due to the advanced nature of the product, training can take between 60-90 minutes. This session is great to attend for those considering upgrading their subscription, or if you have already upgraded but would like to learn how to get the most out of it.

If you would like to register, please send us an email on aneel.ravji@qpresearch.co.nz

We look forward to seeing you there! 

FSC produce a Retirement Planning Guide

The Financial Services Council (FSC) have produced a Retirement Planning Guide which introduces people to some key retirement planning considerations.

The guide has a retirement planning overview, a ‘how to’ guide for Sorted tools and explains how to use the NZ Society of Actuaries’ rules of thumb.

The key considerations in retirement planning are how much you should save for retirement and what you can reasonably spend in retirement. The guide gives examples of matters within your control and variables outside your control which will impact on both of these considerations.

The Sorted tools that are particularly relevant are the KiwiSaver calculator and the Retirement calculator and the guide gives some tips on how to adjust these to reflect your situation.

The guide also explains the different rules of thumb developed by The New Zealand Society of Actuaries: 6% rule, inflated 4% rule, fixed date rule and life expectancy rule.

We think that the most valuable step you can take towards securing a good retirement is to get some advice. Although the DIY tools suggested in this guide can be useful in getting you thinking, this is a complex area in which an adviser adds real value. We suggest talking to a financial adviser with the right skills, experience and qualifications to help you set up a plan, monitor it and revise the plan when circumstances change.

Quotemonster Online Training (with tips and tricks)

Our first introduction to Quotemonster training session for 2024 has been scheduled!

Get a head start on the year and join us on Tuesday, 16 January 2024 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!

What do you want us to write about?

We’d love to find out what you’d like to read more of this year on the blog. Local industry news? Global insurance news? Health news? Insurtech? Let us know here.

Our top read stories since we switched to the new look Chatswood website were Swiss Re’s take on sustainability in life and health insurance, Fidelity Life’s product enhancements and Accuro and Unimed's announcement of their proposal to combine.

Annual diversity statement and gender pay gap reporting

As part of a commitment to fair treatment which we make to employees, customers, and clients, we conduct period assessment of where we stand from a diversity and gender pay gap standpoint.

From a diversity point of view we only publish high-level statements about the diverse nature of our team, in order to protect individual privacy. Of 14 staff we have five men and nine women. Any more specific breakdown as being a very small business we may end up disclosing personal information. We do, however, come from a wide-range of backgrounds - nine different countries of origin, as is fairly common in Auckland - we have an equally wide-range of cultural backgrounds. We aim to be a tolerant and inclusive organisation which allows us to draw strength from a wide range of skills, experiences, and perspectives. Our team includes people with deep technical skills and also those with great industry experience.

From a gender pay gap point of view, this report is as at the end of calendar year 2023, and covers all permanent staff currently present (i.e. excludes those on maternity leave and unpaid leave). We currently have a gender pay gap of 15% - meaning that the average of hourly rates including benefits for roles held by men exceeds the same average for roles held by women by 15%. It has been at parity and has also been the other way around. It bumps around a fair bit because, at our level of staffing, if non-executive roles shift from male to female it has had a big impact. On our governance board, and in our executive positions there is no gender pay gap.  There are an equal number of male and female members of our advisory board and governance board.

We’re back!

We hope you had a lovely break and got to enjoy some sunshine and had a chance to relax. The Chatswood and QPR team are back in the office and looking forward to everything we have planned this year. Although we are keeping some great new developments under wraps, we can drop some hints:

·         People with an interest in data and statements of advice for KiwiSaver and Home Loans should drop us a line

·         How do you check if a plan you have put together is reasonable? Ask us to put you in the beta test group for Checkmonster

Things already live that you may want to check out again now you’re back:

1.       Research: you should check out the stand-alone head to head comparison with access to more than 50 legacy products now rated and more joining them every week

2.       If you aren’t using Advicemonster to make your production of SOAs better, quicker, and more robust, then we’ve added more reasons to help you make up your mind

3.       Want to make sure your compliance is in good shape? Maybe add a copy of our outsource provider statement and information security bulletins to your compliance file

Hit us up with any questions you have. And if you have any thoughts on training you would find useful, please let us know here or here.

Are kiwis taking more sickies?

The 2023 Workplace Wellness Report, a collaboration between Southern Cross Health Society and BusinessNZ, found a rising trend in staff using more of their sick leave entitlements.

The survey canvassed 137 organisations in the public and private sectors, who together employ a total of 135,742 people, 6.57% of all employees in New Zealand, about their employee absence data across 2022.

In July 2021 the statutory sick leave entitlement increased from five to ten days annually. Across 2022 employees took an average of 5.5 days off. This increased from the 4.2 to 4.7 days recorded between 2012 and 2020. It should be noted that 2020’s average of 4.2 days was the lowest, when lockdowns, social distancing and a nationwide focus on staying home when sick had a significant impact on results.  

Extrapolating figures from the survey to the national workforce, it translates to 10 million working days lost due to employee absence in 2022, up significantly from 2021’s 7.3 million estimate. Across the economy this equates to around $2.86 billion in absence costs.

The report cited the ongoing influence of Covid-19 and the encouragement to stay home when ill as one of the factors influencing 2022’s increased absence results. They found 2022’s mean result for the degree staff typically turned up for work with some form of illness when they should have stayed home was less than in 2018, 2016, 2014, and 2012 and an exact match for 2020. This bodes well that employees are putting more emphasis on taking care of themselves and limiting the spread of illness. The report also found that the proportion of enterprises who thought the culture of their business encouraged employees to stay home when ill has improved markedly since Covid-19 arrived, throughout all sizes of businesses.

However, they also note that ‘paid sickness absence days being viewed as an entitlement by those suspected to be not actually sick’ as risen up the ranking of main drivers of absence to reach number 7.

Anecdotally, people have been experiencing more sickness since lockdowns ceased than in years previous. Could this be part to blame for the increase in absences? Or is it simply that one of the lingering effects of living through a pandemic is a reluctance to come in to work when sick, when in the past employees would have just soldiered on?

Could weight loss drug companies overtake fitness related companies on Wall Street?

The huge uptake of weight-loss drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy is propelling their stocks to ever higher values. JP Morgan has predicted that sales of GLP-1 drugs will hit $100 billion by 2030 – perhaps not surprising given that a whopping 7 percent of the entire US population is expected to be using these drugs in the next 10 years.

At the same time fitness related companies such as Peloton (an internet-connected exercise equipment and media company whose shares peaked during lockdown) shares are waning in value.

We’ll just have to wait and see how this tracks over the next few years.

Happy New Year! We’re excited about 2024

At QuoteMonster we are roaring with excitement for 2024. In 2022 we ran our first roadshow in three years, launching a completely new look and feel and updated research package. In 2023 we got double the number of you coming along to our roadshow, added AI tools, more new research, business insurance research, business SOAs, and much more. As a consequence, we welcomed more than 130 new subscribers, taking the total to over 950 advisers. We also welcomed nine of you to join our research advisory board. There is a more detailed review of the year at this link: https://www.chatswood.co.nz/home/2023-at-quality-product-research-limited

For 2024 we have a long list of things we want to improve, add to, and some completely new developments. Although we know we won’t get through them all, by the middle of the year we should have a good bundle of updates to share with you.

Based on the conversations with many advisers I have had over the last few months, 2024 will be a big year for risk. Sure, there are challenges. We could do with interest rates dropping, we could do with banks and insurers working to restore resilience to the direct debit system. We can always wish for the environment to be easier. Meanwhile, our plan is to work to make the bit we look after for you, work better.

Our dedication to your success remains unwavering. We understand that your role as financial advisers is pivotal in helping your clients navigate the market for cover, work out their requirements, and get what they need – and review it all regularly. As such, we continue to enhance our service to ensure you have the best tools at your disposal. I want to mention three enhancements specifically in case you haven’t seen them.

Latest research updates, particularly in our research on medical insurance. Go grab a fresh comparison, as a package of updates was put through just before the break. Remember we update the research database two or three times every quarter. Things change.

Legacy insurance product research: check out our nice new library of legacy business research. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, let us know – we’ve added more than a product a week over the last year.

Advicemonster: If you’re looking for an extensive, robust, and flexible way to produce insurance SOAs fast, then we have you covered there too. In 2023 we added quote upload, and email fact find features so you can save time getting data into Advicemonster. Also, we added an option to get AI help you when writing the introduction to the SOA.

Plus, there are updates to the site all the time. You folks keep giving us great new ideas. But roughly half the time someone says to me ‘why don’t you…’ it turns out I can say ‘look at this link here’. So, if you want a low-key way to ease back into work, why not just have a good nose around the site?

I want to acknowledge the incredible effort and dedication of our team in 2023. Their hard work and commitment have been essential to all improvements and growth.

Lastly, and in the chief place: thank you. Thank you for your continued trust in QuoteMonster. Here’s to a prosperous and successful New Year!

Fidelity Life to hold Practice Manager / Administrator summits

Fidelity Life have announced they will be holding their inaugural practice manager/administrator summits in February 2024. These summits are targeted at support staff that play a critical role in driving success at adviser businesses. They will cover topics such as working together, process and system design and what’s coming up from Fidelity Life. There are three summits across the country.

Christchuch: Tuesday 13 February 2024

Wellington: Wednesday 21 February 2024

Auckland: Wednesday 28 February 2024

More daily news:

Fidelity Life surveying advisers on their combined Health and Life offering

nib announce quarterly rates review

Susan Edmunds writes of six common insurance fishhooks

Feedback sought on draft version of revised entry-level qualification for financial advisers

FSC cancel Trans Tasman Strategic Leaders Summit

In Australia, Health Minister rejects health insurance industry’s request to deliver 6pc premium rise

EMA sees demand for restructuring and redundancy support up by almost 50% as businesses responded to economic slowdown