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.
Fidelity Life announces growth plans
Campbell Mitchell, Fidelity Life Chief Executive, has told delegates at the Engage Conference the company’s intentions to grow to a $1 billion company.
Campbell Mitchell, Fidelity Life Chief Executive, announced the company’s intentions to grow to a $1 billion company in eight years time. Mitchell was speaking to delegates at Fidelity Life’s Engage Conference in Auckland.
Fidelity Life was the fastest growing life insurer in New Zealand in the period ending September 30, with 150% growth in new business year-on-year across the last two quarters.
More news:
mySolutions webinar 'New tools from Quotemonster' 13 November
nib release their top 5 health claims for August 2024
FSC Life Insurance Special Interest Group Networking Event is on 10 December
Tony Vidler says advisers need constant reinvention of value and service
TAP announce partnership with Bizcap
BNZ has announced a strategic partnership with BlinkPay
BNZ has made a net profit of $1.506 billion for the 12 months to 30 September 2024
Over half of the country's mortgages are due to have interest rate reset within six months
Survey finds 70% of millennials believe they may never be able to buy a home
The cost of living for New Zealand households has risen 3.8% over the past year
Fidelity Life announce winners of their Adviser awards
Fidelity Life announced the winners of their Adviser Awards at their 2024 Engage Conference.
Fidelity Life announced the winners of their Adviser Awards at their 2024 Engage Conference.
Professional of the future award: Josh Cuttance – SHARE NZ (Dunedin).
Josh has leveraged social media as a powerful tool to connect, engage, and elevate his professional presence. As well as being a member of Fidelity Life’s Adviser council, he contributes to the wider industry via groups like Financial Advice New Zealand. Balancing the roles of business owner, adviser and father he demonstrates resilience and ambition, recently expanding his team with a new administrative member.
Josh Cuttance being presented with the Professional of the future award by Campbell Mitchell
Cary Veenhof award: Andrea Reid – Aliya Insurance Brokers (Waikato).
Andrea has over 25 years of industry experience and now leads her own FAP and has dedicated her career to supporting New Zealanders. With a client-first approach, she offers guidance during critical claim times, reflected in her excellent NPS results.
Andrea Reid being presented with the Cary Veenhof award by Campbell Mitchell
Team of the Year: Financial Independence (Tauranga).
With 22 professionals, Financial Independence provides outstanding life insurance and service advice, supported by specialised roles in Operations, Claims, and Customer Outcomes. Their commitment to clients is enhanced by teamwork, with everyone based in one office to foster collaboration and shared learning. Their community involvement is equally inspiring, supporting causes like Women’s Wellness, Homes of Hope, Scouts NZ, and Breast Cancer Support.
The Financial Independence team being presented with the Team of the Year award by Campbell Mitchell
Lifetime Award: Grant Maddison - Maddison Financial Services (Queenstown).
Grant has built a reputation as a trusted adviser and mentor, blending warmth and professionalism. His client base is diverse, from tradies to high-net-worth families, with whom he’s fostered long-standing relationships. Specialising in rural sectors, SMEs, and families across Queenstown, Central Otago, and Southland, he’s respected for his expertise and commitment. Beyond his professional achievements, he’s a proud member of Financial Advice New Zealand and brings a passion for travel, golf, soccer, and community.
Grant Maddison being presented with the Lifetime award by Campbell Mitchell
Gordon Watson Trophy: Brett Pearce - Pearce Financial Services (Auckland).
Brett is a 6-time winner of this award. With his extensive experience in the industry and focus on customer outcomes, Brett is consistently described by his customers as professional, prepared, and knowledgeable, keeps up with the latest industry developments and offers a variety of options to meet his customers’ needs. Always there for his customers at claim time, he is also highly regarded by our internal claims and underwriting teams.
Brett Pearce being presented with the Gordon Watson Trophy by Campbell Mitchell
Fidelity Life’s Business manager of the year award was shared by Kenny Kaushish (Auckland) and Michelle Vaughan (Christchurch), who have shown incredible growth and tenacity in delivering outstanding performances.
Kenny Kaushish being presented with the Business Manager of the year award by Campbell MItchell
Michelle Vaughan being presented with the Business Manager of the year award by Campbell Mitchell
Legal and regulatory update for the life and health insurance sector
RBNZ announce key findings from Reverse Stress Test, announce date they will publish annual updated weights for the Trade Weighted Index and say risks to NZ’s financial system remain contained; XRB consult on proposal to amend equity method of accounting; FMA release new podcast series on KiwiSaver; committee stage of the Contracts of Insurance Bill completed and the bill was divided.
4 November 2024 - The RBNZ announced key findings from its 2024 Reverse Stress Test, alongside an assessment of how geopolitical tensions could impact financial stability in New Zealand. https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/hub/news/2024/11/geopolitical-tensions-highlighted-as-risk-to-financial-stability
4 November 2024 - The Reserve Bank of New Zealand will publish the annual updated weights for the Trade Weighted Index on 4 December. https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/statistics/series/exchange-and-interest-rates/trade-weighted-index-weights-and-trade-volumes
5 November 2024 - Risks to New Zealand’s financial system remain contained, Deputy Governor Christian Hawkesby says in releasing the November 2024 Financial Stability Report. https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/hub/news/2024/11/financial-system-remains-resilient-admidst-economic-downturn
6 November 2024 - The External Reporting Board is seeking feedback on the International Accounting Standards Board's Exposure Draft which proposes to amend and clarify the requirements of the equity method of accounting. Consultations closes 20 November 2024. https://www.xrb.govt.nz/assets/Accounting/Consultations/Equity-Method-ED/XRB-summary-of-the-proposals-IASB-ED-Equity-Method.pdf
7 November 2024 - The FMA launch a new podcast series 'Navigating KiwiSaver'. In the first episode 'KiwiSaver 101', Jess talks with Stuart Johnson, Chief Economist at the FMA, about KiwiSaver – how it works, its benefits, and strategies to maximise your investment. https://www.fma.govt.nz/library/podcast/navigating-kiwisaver-episode-1/
7 November 2024 - The committee stage of the Contracts of Insurance Bill was completed. The bill was divided into the following bills:
Contracts of Insurance Bill
Contracts of Insurance (Repeals and Amendments) Bill
FSC publish Spotlights on Life Insurance and KiwiSaver
The Financial Services Council (FSC) have published their September 2024 spotlights on Life Insurance and KiwiSaver.
The Financial Services Council (FSC) have published their September 2024 spotlights on Life Insurance and KiwiSaver.
There are now 4.15 million life insurance covers, with $3.21 billion in annual life insurance premiums. The split is about 60% males and 30% females, and more than half of cover is for those aged 46 – 65.
KiwiSaver member contributions are slightly less than last year but funds under management have increased by 21.2% in the 12 months to 30 September, reaching $107.25 billion. Members are at an all-time high of 3,006,163.
Advicemonster – Needs Analysis Calculations
Watch our demo to find out how to do needs analysis calculations on Advicemonster.
This demo takes you through how to do needs analysis calculations on Advicemonster.
FMA announces more than $215 million returned to customers through remediation
The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) has released its annual report for the year ended 30 June 2024, including information on the money being returned to customers as a result of remediation activity stemming from the Conduct and Culture review.
The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) has released its annual report for the year ended 30 June 2024. One of the most interesting findings to come from the annual report was that $215 million has been returned, or is in the process of being returned, to customers as a result of remediation activity stemming from the Conduct and Culture review of banks and life insurers carried out by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) and the FMA between 2018 and 2019. As at June 2024, 1.585 million affected customers had been identified. You can read about some of the filings from this year here.
The FMA achieved six out of nine of its Statement of Performance Expectations. Some key achievements included several penalty decisions for fair dealing provision breaches, opening licensing for the Conduct of Financial Institutions (CoFI) regime and producing the first Financial Advice Provider Monitoring Insights Report.
The FMA have also released the results of their Ease of Doing Business Survey which reports on stakeholder and industry participants views on the effectiveness of their interactions with the FMA.
94% agree financial markets are effectively regulated
85% agree the FMA supports market integrity
84% agree that FMA communications is relevant to their sector
75% agree the FMA helps raise the standards of market conduct
80% agree that communications help them understand the FMA’s approach to regulation
77% agree communications help them understand the FMA’s expectations of them
53% agree it’s easy doing business with the FMA
More news:
The Banking Ombudsman Scheme has published results from its five-year review
Chubb launches underwriting chat service
Chubb has launched a new chat function on their adviser hub site that allows advisers to ask the underwriting team questions.
Chubb has launched a new chat function on their adviser hub site that allows advisers to ask the underwriting team questions. Once the conversation is completed a chat transcript is able to be downloaded, for advisers to submit with the application or save to their customer files. You can find out more on their quick guide and their explainer video.
More news:
AIA NZ appoints Aaron Gilmore to the role of Regional Sales Manager – Northern
Asteron Life release their climate-related disclosures
AIA have updated their Change of Ownership forms
Hamish Patel has been elected to the board of Financial Advice NZ
FinTech NZ Hui Taumata is on 11 March 2025 in Auckland
mySolutions webinar 'Managing compliance using Sharepoint' 6 November
More than 7,500 people made early KiwiSaver withdrawals during September
Changes in QPR Database Upgrade 16.1
A summary of the database upgrades made in the shift to version 16.1 on Wednesday 30 October.
Changes in V16.1
New product rated under Mortgage Protection (MPI)
> Partners Life - Household Expenses v19.1 effective 22 April 2024
New documents added:
> Accuro SmartCare and SmartCare Plus June2024 (Policy document update only)
> Southern Cross Wellbeing1&2 Oct2024 (rating changes applied to exclusions)
> Chubb Life Biz&Personal 26 September 2024 (Personal rating changes applied to Child Trauma, Instant Buyback and update to trauma expiry age)
Remediations Personal & Business:
> Medical
* Major review for non-pharmac which includes split into two items:
- non-PHARMAC drugs (cancer specific)
- non-PHARMAC drugs (non-cancer)
> Life cover
* Sub-item review for Conversion Option (renamed to Cover Conversion)
* Sub-item remediation for Terminal Illness (Asteron Life) and Upgrade Policy Wording
> Trauma
* Sub-item remediation for Permanent Loss of Hearing
* Sub-item remediation for Permanent Paralysis
> Specific Injury
* Sub-item remediation for Permanent Paralysis
> Income/Mortgage
* Sub-item remediation for Travel and Transport (Asteron Life)
* Sub-item remediation for Key Person and Business Expenses Partial Disability (Asteron Life)
* Update to income expiry age for 2 and 5 year benefit (Asteron Life)
FSR updates applied to:
* Asteron Life FSR updated from A+ to A
* Accuro FSR rating update from B to A
* SBS FSR rating update from BBB to BBB+
* Booster Assurance update to NR
Legal and regulatory update for the life and health insurance sector
Privacy authorities release statement on additional takeaways for industry; APRA release Life Insurance Claims and Disputes statistics; FMA consult on renewal of class exemptions for DIMS licensees from certain financial reporting requirements; ASIC release audit findings; FSC publish spotlights on Life Insurance and KiwiSaver; Government seeks feedback on information sharing agreement between IRD and MBIE; FMA renews notices.
29 Oct 2024 - Global privacy authorities, including the office of the Privacy Commissioner, have engaged with some of the world’s largest social media companies after issuing a joint statement on data scraping last year. As a result of this engagement, they have now issued a follow-up statement laying out additional takeaways for industry. This follow-up joint statement lays out further expectations, including that organisations:
Comply with privacy and data protection laws when using personal information, including from their own platforms, to develop artificial intelligence (AI) large language models.
Deploy a combination of safeguarding measures and regularly review and update them to keep pace with advances in scraping techniques and technologies.
Ensure that permissible data scraping for commercial or socially beneficial purposes is done lawfully and in accordance with strict contractual terms. https://www.privacy.org.nz/publications/statements-media-releases/global-privacy-authorities-issue-follow-up-joint-statement-on-data-scraping-after-industry-engagement/
29 Oct 2024 - APRA has released its Life Insurance Claims and Disputes Statistics publication, covering a rolling 12-month period from 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024. https://www.apra.gov.au/news-and-publications/apra-and-asic-publish-latest-data-on-life-insurance-claims-and-disputes-9
30 Oct 2024 - The FMA are consulting on renewal of class exemption for DIMS licensees from certain financial reporting requirements, consultation closes 29 November 2024. https://www.fma.govt.nz/business/focus-areas/consultation/consultation-renewal-of-class-exemption-for-dims-licensees-from-certain-financial-reporting-requirements/
30 Oct 2024 - ASIC has released findings from its financial reporting and audit surveillance for the 12 months to 30 June 2024, and announced a proactive surveillance focused on auditors’ compliance with independence and conflicts of interest requirements. https://asic.gov.au/about-asic/news-centre/find-a-media-release/2024-releases/24-240mr-asic-releases-fy-2023-24-financial-reporting-and-audit-report-and-launches-auditor-independence-surveillance/?altTemplate=betanewsroom
30 Oct 2024 - The FSC has published its KiwiSaver Industry Spotlight September 2024. https://blog.fsc.org.nz/kiwisaver-spotlight-september-2024
30 Oct 2024 - The Government is seeking public feedback on a proposed approved information sharing agreement (AISA) between Inland Revenue and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE). The AISA would allow Inland Revenue and MBIE to share prescribed information with the other agency for the benefits outlined in the discussion document. https://www.taxpolicy.ird.govt.nz/news/2024/consultation-information-sharing-ir-mbie-aisa
31 Oct 2024 - The FMA has decided to renew the Financial Markets Conduct (Disclosure of Relevant Interests by Directors and Senior Managers) Exemption Notice 2019, and the Financial Markets Conduct (NZCDC Settlement System) Exemption Notice 2019, for a further five years. They are working to finalise new notices to give effect to this decision, which they intend to have in place before the current notices are revoked on the close of 30 November 2024. https://www.fma.govt.nz/business/focus-areas/consultation/consultation-class-exemption-renewal-for-disclosure/
30 Oct 2024 - The FSC has published its Life Insurance Industry Spotlight September 2024. https://blog.fsc.org.nz/lifeinsurance-spotlight-september-2024
Insurance Pricing Reports
Find out how to get more information on pricing for a specific insurer when generating a research report.