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.
FSC sees opportunities for increased contributions to KiwiSaver
KiwiSaver has been in the news recently with the FMA releasing their KiwiSaver Annual Report 2024. The FSC have welcomed the insights from the FMA report and said they see opportunities for increased contributions.
KiwiSaver has been in the news recently with funds under management surpassing the $100b mark and the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) releasing their KiwiSaver Annual Report 2024. The Financial Services Council (FSC) have welcomed the insights from the FMA report and said they see opportunities for increased contributions. Kirk Hope, CEO of the FSC said,
“With KiwiSaver funds under management surpassing the $100bn mark, this is a great opportunity to look at KiwiSaver contribution settings and how we can make it affordable over time so that New Zealanders can have dignity in retirement.”
“Increasing contribution levels, in combination with financial literacy that helps New Zealanders understand the benefits and mechanisms of KiwiSaver, are key to driving better retirement outcomes,”
More news:
nib join the Sustainable Business Council NZ
Asteron Life, Chubb Life & Fidelity Life are finalists at the New Zealand Insurance Industry Awards
Fidelity Life employees have unlimited access to LinkedIn’s library of courses
IFSO take their first enforcement proceeding against a Participant
Jon-Paul Hale recommends advisers are clear in explaining unfunded medicines
Workplace Savings End of Year Function 2024 on 4 November
Fidelity Life offer advisers opportunity to go on professional development course
FinTech NZ Annual Meeting on 6 November
Mental Health Minister announces Child and Youth Mental Health and Addiction Prevalence Survey
Asteron Life rating downgraded
S&P have lowered Asteron Life's financial strength and issuer credit ratings to 'A' from 'A+' and given them a stand-alone credit profile of 'a-'.
S&P have lowered Asteron Life's financial strength and issuer credit ratings to 'A' from 'A+'. After a review, S&P has given Asteron Life Ltd a stand-alone credit profile (SACP), which reflects the insurer's satisfactory business risk profile, of 'a-'.
The reason given for the downgrade is an expectation of reduced support from Suncorp Group Ltd in the leadup to the sale of Asteron Life, due to be completed at the end of January 2025. S&P have stated that the ratings on Asteron are on CreditWatch because they believe they will likely lower the ratings if the sale proceeds, with a likely outcome of a one notch ratings downgrade.
More news:
Incentives for those advising consumer clients set to change on 31 March 2025
mySolutions webinar 'Asteron ConnectedCare' 4 September
UniMed Breakfast Series 'with Conrad Goodhew 8 October
Fidelity Life release details of their customer engagement forum
Fidelity Life announce Apollo enhancement
Financial Advice NZ Professional Ethics Workshop 26 September
Apex Advice looking for an experienced Marketing & Communications Specialist
Commerce Commission release banking competitiveness study
The Commerce Commission have released the Final Report on personal banking competitiveness.
The Commerce Commission have released the Final Report on personal banking competitiveness. The 14-month market study found
“a stable, highly profitable, two-tier oligopoly with no disruptive maverick and a lack of obvious or aggressive price competition.”
The study found little strategic differentiation between the major banks and found their growth targets focus on maintaining market share and protecting margins and profitability, limiting competitiveness and innovation.
The Commission’s recommendations to Government can be grouped into four key areas and broadly speaking involve making Kiwibank a more disruptive competitor, accelerating progress on open banking, ensuring the regulatory environment better supports competition and empowering consumers.
While both the Finance and Mortgage Advisers Association of New Zealand (FAMNZ) and Financial Advice New Zealand (FANZ) have welcomed the report, after criticising the draft report which was released in March. Since then, the Commerce Commission has engaged with both associations as well as other representatives from the mortgage industry to better understand the role advisers work.
Leigh Hodgetts, country manager of FAMNZ, has called out the Commerce Commission’s statement that advisers should put more emphasis on price, saying that there are many factors around individual circumstances that must be considered when a consumer takes a loan.
Financial Advice New Zealand said it would be seeking clarity on the recommendations, in an effort to determine any unintended consequences.
More news:
Tony Vidler recommends advisers can evidence why their advice was suitable at the time
mySolutions webinar 'The meeting before the meeting' 28 August
Asteron Life sale should be completed by the end of January 2025
Asteron Life profit after tax fell by 27% to $19m
Financial Advice NZ Central Branch Meeting 27 August
Southern Cross Health Insurance opens nominations for Wayfinder Awards
ASB CEO Vittoria Shortt would like to see KiwiSaver policy changes
The FMA publish the latest 'Money with Mary'
IFSO needs to incorporate as a limited liability company for merger
What advisers think of KiwiSaver
At our latest roadshows, we’ve been lucky enough to have Generate KiwiSaver Scheme join us, giving advisers insights into the benefits of offering KiwiSaver advice. We’ve also been finding out what our roadshow attendees think about KiwiSaver.
At our latest roadshows, we’ve been lucky enough to have Generate KiwiSaver Scheme join us, giving advisers insights into the benefits of offering KiwiSaver advice. We’ve also been finding out what our roadshow attendees think about KiwiSaver.
To date, the results show that for those advisers who are already offering advice on KiwiSaver investments, the top reasons for offering KiwiSaver are diversifying revenue, building a KiwiSaver book for long term value and adding value to clients. Advisers have told us that performance, ease of withdrawals and alternative fund options are most important to clients when choosing a KiwiSaver provider. And 27% of advisers were interested in additional resources or support related to KiwiSaver advice and independent research.
If you haven’t joined us already, come along to one of our remaining roadshows to find out more – along with info on KiwiSaver we’ll be highlighting some major new research, talking about two new regtech tools to help keep you safe, giving you a sneak peek at Kiwimonster, and much, much more.
More news:
Fidelity Life extend 3 months free until 31 December 2024
Michael Weston talks about key priorities at Partners Life
Jon-Paul Hale highlights the good advisers do
Asteron Life are looking for a Lump Sum Claims Specialist
Study finds three-quarters of respondents have realised the importance of financial knowledge
FAMNZ launch inaugural Adviser Elevate series on 28 August
AIA sponsor the Parliamentary Rugby Team
Charlene Overell is the Financial Advice New Zealand Volunteer of the Year
FSCL sees significant increase in complaints over the past year
Financial Services Complaints Limited (FSCL) has revealed that complaints rose by 6% in the last year, to 1,426.
Financial Services Complaints Limited (FSCL) has revealed that complaints rose by 6% in the last year, to 1,426. Of these, complaints against financial advisers were up by 18% and complaints against insurers were up by 14.5%. The biggest driver of complaints was against lenders, particularly involving car, personal and small business loans. In all, new disputes involving formal investigations by FSCL increased by 10% to 359.
FSCL Financial Ombudsman Susan Taylor has said
“We expect this high level of complaints to persist as long as economic conditions remain difficult. The new rules increasing our financial loss compensation to $500,000 (previously $350,000), which took effect in July, could also lead to a further rise.”
More news:
Quotemonster has added a KiwiSaver comparison and research service
Russell Hutchinson writes about issues insuring those with complex incomes
Financial Advice NZ webinar 'How the latest Dispute Resolution Scheme rules affect you' 14 August
MAS Annual General Meeting 2024 is on 21 August
Asteron Life offers four $5,000 grants to advisers who attended MDRT annual meeting
ANZ has announced that Nagaja Sanatkumar will join its board
ANZIIF has released an IT outage preparedness video
Gallagher Insurance support the Poipoia te Kākano Programme
Westpac announce their first third party Open Banking integration is live
nib looks to improve services to Māori
nib is looking to improve services to Māori communities by learning from indigenous health providers in other countries.
nib is looking to improve services to Māori communities by learning from indigenous health providers in other countries. Leadership from nib and Iwi partners involved in the Toi Ora project have recently returned from a study tour to Canada. Those involved met with Canada’s First Nations Health Authority, Pacific Blue Cross, First Nations Tax Commission (FNTC) and Squamish Nation to get insights into how these organisations deliver services to First Nations people in Canada and how these lessons could be applied in New Zealand.
Sarah McBride, nib NZ’s Head of Iwi Initiatives, said learnings included better ways to use existing funding, the importance of using health-related statistics and relevant previous cases to support new projects, and co-creation with local partners.
More daily news:
Potential CoFI change gives FMA power of onsite inspection without warning
Partners Life to launch new Underwriting Workbench
Michael Weston speaks about his plans for Partners Life
nib release their top five health claims for April
The FMA has highlighted the authorised body system as a potential problem area
Financial Advice NZ publish Budget 2024 Summary - Adviser to Client Resource
Entries open for Insurance Business’ 5-Star Insurance Innovators awards
MAS is looking for a Head of Private Wealth
Budget 2024 includes new health investments
Professor Lester Levy has been appointed as a member and Chair of the Board of Health New Zealand
Asteron Life appoints new Chief Underwriter
Kathie Tutty has been named the new Chief Underwriter at Asteron Life.
Kathie Tutty has been named the new Chief Underwriter at Asteron Life. Tutty is currently the Underwriting Manager and Principal Underwriter at Asteron Life and will start her new role on May 31.
Grant Willis, Executive General Manager Life, said
“Kathie’s promotion to the role of chief underwriter and member of the life leadership team recognises her passion and ambition for our business and her desire to take our underwriting performance and strategy to the next level.”
More daily news:
Bronwyn Kirwan interviews Niall McConville, Fidelity Life's new Chief Insurance Officer
MAS reaches $2.5b investment funds under management
The Monetary Policy Committee keep the Official Cash Rate at 5.50%
Resolution Life’s purchase of Asteron Life will be different than when they purchased AMP Life
Grant Willis, Asteron Life executive general manager, says Resolution Life's proposal to acquire Asteron Life is very different to when it bought AMP Life.
Advisers had previously expressed frustration after Resolution Life’s acquisition of AMP Life, particularly around communications and service levels.
Willis says that this time it will be different as Resolution Life are supporting Asteron Life’s growth ambitions, keeping the current management team in place and keeping the branding the same. Willis says the purchase will allow Asteron Life to invest in things like digitising the business to drive growth.
In addition, Willis points to new leadership at Resolution Life Australasia, with Tim Tez taking on the CEO role less than 18 months ago.
More daily news:
TIN’s 2024 Fintech Report Launch is on 23 May in Auckland
Good Returns points out some issues with the Reserve Bank's solvency standards for insurers
The FSC release report on insights and trends in healthcare
The Financial Services Council (FSC) have released their Insights and Trends report “Health trends: Accessible and affordable healthcare”.
The Financial Services Council (FSC) have released their Insights and Trends report “Health trends: Accessible and affordable healthcare”. Some key insights and trends include:
A looming social healthcare crisis, as aging populations live longer, but not healthier. As life expectancy lengthens, there needs to be a global focus on increasing health span, the time that people live in good health.
Kiwis with health insurance has increased by 1.2%, to 1.45 million in 2023.
37% of kiwis reported having health insurance in 2023, up from 32% in 2022.
Mental health is the most concerning health issue, especially for younger generations (with 42% of 18-28 year old respondents and 39% of 29-43 year old respondents highlighting it as their main concern).
The top reason for taking out health or medical insurance was peace of mind, followed by reducing stress if myself/my family were going through a difficult time and it seeming like a financially responsible thing to do.
The main reason given for cancelling health cover was cost of living pressures meaning people can no longer afford it (55%).
More daily news:
Russell Hutchinson discusses assessing clients' financial needs for their entire lifetime
Financial Advice NZ to hold regional town hall meetings in April and May, with members in those regions to be contacted directly
Asteron Life to be sold to Resolution Life Australia
Resolution Life Australasia has acquired Asteron Life from Suncorp Group for a purchase price of $410 million.
Resolution Life Australasia has acquired Asteron Life from Suncorp Group for a purchase price of $410 million. Asteron Life has about 165 employees servicing more than 180,000 customers and their advisers. Resolution Life Australasia is part of Resolution Life, a global life insurance group with around 14 million policyholders.
The acquisition is still subject to New Zealand regulatory approvals, with the deal expected to complete in approximately nine months. If the purchase goes ahead, Resolution Life will become the second largest life insurer in New Zealand.
Tim Tez, Chief Executive Officer Resolution Life Australasia, said
“This acquisition further demonstrates our commitment to the Australasian market and our success in growing our business in the region… Asteron Life presents a compelling opportunity to continue to grow through new individual and group customers while continuing to support existing customers.
Resolution Life will support the Asteron Life business with its momentum and success in the New Zealand life insurance market. As a trusted life insurer, Asteron Life will continue to operate as a standalone New Zealand licenced life insurance company, under its existing brand in New Zealand and support advisers and their customers using the same dedicated team and management.”
More daily news:
The FSC publish their Life Insurance Industry Spotlight December 2023
The Triple A Advisers Association and Plus4 Insurance Solutions have merged
Seven Sharp featured Kate Dron chatting about what it means to be an actuary
Next version of NZCFS Level 5 has been submitted for approval with NZQA
Southern Cross Health Insurance has appointed Andrea Brunner as its Chief Operating Officer
Marsh releases ‘New Zealand insurance market update 2023: Year in review’
Deloitte and FintechNZ launch the 2024 New Zealand Fintech Pulsecheck
Associate Health Minister David Seymour says changes to the Medicines Act could be needed