Dr John Mayhew has died

We were saddened to hear that Dr John Mayhew, known to many as ‘Doc’, has passed away. Our deepest sympathies are with his family during this difficult time.

Throughout his career, Dr Mayhew was involved in numerous national and international sports events, but his most recognised were being All Black team medic for almost two decades and club doctor at the Warriors for 14 seasons. He played a crucial role in advancing the field of sports medicine in New Zealand, contributing to research, education, and the overall development of medical practices tailored for athletes.  In 2016 he was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services in sports medicine.

Dr Mayhew spent 21 years at AIA NZ & Sovereign and was most recently the resident medical expert at AIA in his role of Chief Medical Officer. A message from AIA said,

“Doc was always ready to share his knowledge with our people, from answering complex medical questions, providing advice on claims, helping to decipher doctor’s handwriting, or just taking the time to talk all things rugby & the Warriors.”

A message from the FSC said,

“Dr. Mayhew will be remembered by the FSC team for his balanced perspective and insight, and his commitment to prioritising positive outcomes and the wellbeing of patients.”

Russell Hutchinson remembers him warmly as being part of the team at Birkenhead Family and Sports Medicine before he left to focus on sports medicine and the insurance industry.

Fidelity Life announce several key appointments

Fidelity Life have announced a range of changes to their team.

Craig Wagstaff appointed Head of Individual Life

Craig starts the role 9 June, and he will report directly to Bronwyn Kirwan, Chief Commercial Officer. Craig brings extensive expertise in life insurance, adviser relationships and bancassurance partnerships and most recently was Group General Manager Franchise, Brand and Marketing at NZHL. Craig will lead all aspects of Fidelity Life’s distribution strategy and channel performance for advisers, strategic alliances, bancassurance, and digital partners - areas of significant investment as Fidelity Life continues its growth journey.

Simon Millward takes on newly created role of National Partnerships Manager – Corporate and Growth

Simon will manage a portfolio of intermediary partnerships at regional and national levels while driving growth through new relationships.  Simon was formerly Fidelity Life’s Head of Service Excellence, overseeing adviser onboarding, customer value and retention, customer advocacy and complaint resolution, and quality assurance.

Rhys Knight takes on the new role of Group Business Manager (contract)

Rhys was previously at Suncorp New Zealand and his new role will enable Fidelity Life to provide greater support to Group advisers and offer more protection to employees across New Zealand. 

Sam Paterson takes on the role of Canterbury & Marlborough region Business Manager

Sam starts mid-April and was previously Area Manager for the Canterbury region at Farmers Mutual Group (FMG).

Peter Warfield & Kirsty Michell promoted to Senior Business Managers

Peter Warfield has been promoted to Senior Business Manager – North while Kirsty Michell has been promoted to Senior Business Manager – South.

Title changes for Michelle O’Connell and Gary Binnie

Following Peter and Kirsty’s promotions, Fidelity Life’s two current Senior Business Managers have had title changes. Michelle O’Connell has a title change to Regional Manager – North while Gary Binnie has a title change to Regional Manager - South.

Kenny Kaushish leaves Fidelity Life

Kenny Kaushish leaves Fidelity Life on 30 June, to transition into new role as a financial adviser. A search for a new Auckland Business Manager has commenced.  

More news:

FSC Professional Advice Special Interest Group Networking Event 7 May

Seven new FANZ members have achieved certified financial planner designation

AIA launch AIA NZ Quarterly, a quarterly LinkedIn newsletter

Minimum industry entry requirements are not enough to qualify an adviser to give advice in some specialised areas

Wealthpoint is looking for a Head of Investments

Bell Gully discuss key changes and implications of new bills that will effect NZ's financial services

The Commerce Commission has stepped back its three completed lender offers proposal it wants mortgage advisers to adhere to

The IRD delivers a definitive statement of how it views GST in relation to funds management

nib New Zealand launches Ultimate Life & Living product range

nib New Zealand has launched Ultimate Life & Living, a suite of six new insurance products available exclusively through advisers.

The six new products are:

• Ultimate Life Insurance

• Ultimate Trauma Insurance

• Ultimate Income Protection Insurance (available in both Indemnity and Agreed Value)

• Ultimate Mortgage Protection Insurance

• Ultimate Total & Permanent Disability Insurance

• Ultimate Waiver of Premium

nib is introducing a simplified application process. The updated system, nibAPPLY, will allow advisers to quote and submit applications for health, life and living insurance products simultaneously, improving efficiencies.

Advisers must complete product training and accreditation to offer the new products. nib offers online modules for both new and experienced advisers.

For a limited time, new customers get a $300 credit on their nib Ultimate Life & Living Insurance policy after paying for their first month or more when processed through nibAPPLY before 30 June 2025.

For a limited time, existing nib health clients can get 10% off their Health Insurance premiums when they bundle Health with Ultimate Life & Living Insurance, when any member on an eligible health policy is issued with a new Ultimate Life & Living Insurance policy (subject to meeting minimum premium criteria). The discount applies to the total health policy premium excluding the policy fee and the offer is available exclusively through nibAPPLY until 30 September 2025.

More news:

AIA bring back popular one month’s premium free campaign

New AIA Vitality Garmin reward

Naomi Ballantyne honoured with Lifetime Achievement Award

Lifetime Group awarded Community Impact Award

AIA change reinstatement rules for policies lapsed for 180 days or more

AIA release updated Underwriting Guide

AIA have refreshed their conduct standards for advisers

The FMA wants to see advisers avoid burying disclosure in lengthy documents full of jargon

nib combine member engagement and digital transformation teams

AI becoming more trusted by executives

SAP investigated how US executives were using AI in their organisations and their trust in the technology. They found that AI has become embedded in work practices (with 63% of executives using generative AI daily) and is changing how people do business.

Decisions are being made based on AI insights, with 44% of C-suite executives saying they would override a decision they had already planned to make based on AI insights and another 38% trusting AI to make business decisions on their behalf. 74% of executives had more confidence in AI advice over advice from family and friends. And a massive 55% of executives say in their company AI-driven insights have replaced or bypassed traditional decision-making.

Some common tasks carried out by generative AI tools include:

• Analysing data and making recommendations for decision-making (52%)

• Spotting risk or issues they hadn't previously considered (48%)

• Offering alternate plans (47%)

• Enhancing product development (40%)

• Supporting budget planning (40%)

• Performing market research (40%)

SAP found that there were positive implications on employee wellbeing, with 39% of executives reporting better work-life balance, 38% reporting improved wellbeing and 31% reporting reduced stress.

More news:

SortMe Advisor Portal, a tool designed to enhance financial advisory services, launches

AIA launch new Guide to Medical Underwriting

28% of large organisations rank AI-generated cyber threats as a major risk

Outgoing Chief Ombudsman identifies significant concerns with Health NZ’s delays and administrative processes around OIA requests

Unimed CEO to step down

UniMed has announced that CEO Louise Zacest will be stepping down at the end of March. UniMed Chair Peter Tynan said the organisation was deeply grateful for Louise’s leadership over the past four years.

“Under her guidance, UniMed has become New Zealand’s third largest health insurer, expanded into health & safety and mental wellbeing, and significantly strengthened its internal capabilities.”

Lynne Hayman has been appointed as interim CEO, for the period 31 March to 31 October 2025, while a recruitment process for a new CEO is undertaken. Hayman joined UniMed late last year as Interim Chief Operating Officer.

More news:

Fidelity Life's A- (Excellent) financial strength rating affirmed by AM Best

AIA NZ is recruiting for a new head of investments

AIA Group delivered US$6,605 million OPAT in the year ended 31 December 2024.

PPS Mutual is preparing to launch in New Zealand

The FMA contractor budget more than $13 million over the 2023/24 reporting year

GlobalData projects the life insurance market in New Zealand will grow

GlobalData, an international data and analytics company, has projected the New Zealand life insurance market to grow from $5.9 billion in 2024 to $8.3 billion in 2029, equating to a compound annual growth rate of 7.0%, in terms of gross written premium. It expects the New Zealand life insurance market will reach $6.4 billion in gross written premiums in 2025.

The largest driver of growth is expected to be life personal accident and health, with an expected compound annual growth rate of 6.9% between 2025 and 2029 driven by rising healthcare expenditure and corresponding premium increases.

GlobalData puts the increased demand down to factors including an aging population, heightened health awareness and the rising cost of living, which have increased the need for financial protection, though they caveat their projections, saying high unemployment and inflation could pose risks to this growth.

More news:

Applications for Fidelity Life’s Career Connect 2025 intake are open

The ‘Get AIA Vitality and Start Thriving’ brand campaign is back

Chubb Life introduce Smart Start, Change of Mind and the ability to delete quotes

Chubb Life have announced the launch of their new “Smart Start” feature, a new “Change of Mind” window for cancellations and withdrawals and the ability to delete quotes in Adviser Hub.

The Smart Start feature will be rolled out from 13 – 20 February.  With “Smart Start”, once underwriting for an Assurance Extra or Assurance Extra Business policy has been completed at standard rates or an Offer of Terms has been accepted, Chubb Life’s systems will initiate a temporary pause period and advisers will receive a “Ready to Issue” email which outlines the planned commencement date, first payment date, payment frequency and premium amount. The default pause period is five working days, after which the policy will automatically issue, though advisers can adjust the pause period to anything from 0 – 5 days. During the pause period, advisers can request changes by replying to the email or calling the New Business team.

From 14 February, cancellation requests will be processed as soon as they’re received and the “Change of Mind” 14-day window will apply, whereby customers will be able to withdraw their cancellation request and retain their cover without going through underwriting again. If customers were to experience a claimable event, they’ll continue to be protected until the end of the change of mind window, or the effective date of the cancellation, whichever is the latest.

Advisers will be able to delete quotes from AdviserHub – individual quotes can be deleted from within the quote itself, or advisers can delete multiple quotes through a bulk delete function on the “retrieve quote” screen.

In other Chubb Life news, AM Best has reaffirmed Chubb Life Insurance New Zealand Limited's Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) and Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “a+” (excellent) with stable outlooks.

More news:

Women in Insurance Summit speakers announced

FMA looking for a Senior Adviser, Insurance

AIA webinar 'Guide to Medical Conditions' 28 February

ICNZ Conference 2025 is on 4 March

Partners Life to release Quote for Alteration Phase 2

Partners Life new upgrade to their Quote for Alteration (QFA) digital tool is coming soon. There’s a handy tutorial here. The upgrade will provide a fully digital process, where advisers can apply for increases and alterations for existing clients in the same way they do for new clients within QFA. QFA applications will be available on Partners Protection Plan and Business Protection Plan policies; Funeral Plan, Essential, Heritage and Loancare policies cannot be serviced online through QFA.

More news:

AIA extend their 3 months' insurance free offer until 31 March 2025

AIA are introducing digital arrears notifications

AIA increases pricing for some Trauma products

AIA introduce SovLink microlearning

Fidelity Life simplify underwriting process

Partners Life paid out 93% of claims in the year ending March 31, 2024

Government commissions two independent reviews to improve the performance and sustainability of ACC

AIA appoints new Chief Distribution Officer and new Chief Customer Officer

AIA has announced two executive appointments, with Angela Busby being appointed Chief Distribution Officer and Maddie Sherlock being appointed Chief Customer Officer.

Busby was previously AIA NZ’s Chief Customer Officer and Chief Strategy Officer and has held a variety of other senior roles across Sovereign, ASB Securities and Aegis. Her new role will see her responsible for business development including IFA and Group Distribution, Aligned Advice and AIA NZ’s ASB Partnership, as well as Distribution Performance and Supervision.

Angela Busby, Chief Distribution Officer

Sherlock has been with AIA since 2015 and was most recently AIA NZ’s Head of Customer Strategic Delivery. In her new role, Sherlock will oversee all the functions of Customer operations including the management of customers, underwriting, claims, rehabilitation, and customer experience.

Maddie Sherlock, Chief Customer Officer

Sharron Botica, former AIA NZ Chief Partnership Distribution Officer, has recently resigned her role at AIA to pursue new career opportunities.

More news:

Fidelity Life E-App updates how they capture Direct Debit details

FSCL has commenced its third independent review

A new life insurance company is planning to launch later this year

Findings from FSC member satisfaction survey released

Unimed Breakfast Series event on the Power of Movement 11 February

Rohaan Mohanty has joined Apex Advice as Adviser Manager - Investments

Asteron Life announce extended sponsorship of the Gut Foundation

Tony Vidler writes of the importance of influencers, advocates and fans

Menopause in the news

Menopause, where oestrogen levels drop and menstruation stops, has been in the news a lot recently. While people are starting to talk about it more, there is still a lack of understanding and even misdiagnosis of symptoms. One survey found a third of respondents waited at least three years for their menopausal symptoms to be correctly diagnosed, and a further 18 per cent visited their doctor six times before they received the help they needed.

While hot flushes may be the symptom most people first think of, brain fog has been found to be more common. Other symptoms can include night sweats, mood swings, joint pain, low energy, memory problems, sleep problems, low mood, low libido, irritability, nervousness, headaches and more.

Dr Lisa Mosconi says “Menopause changes the brain’s structure, functionality, and even its connectivity in fairly unique ways.” Dr Louise Newson even suggests it should be reframed as a neurological condition instead of a gynaecological one.

So what can be done to help improve menopausal symptoms? Eat a mediterranean-style diet filled with whole foods, avoid alcohol, get regular physical exercise, challenge your brain (puzzles, learning a new language or playing a musical instrument are all good), get quality sleep, try stress management techniques such as yoga and mindfulness, discuss hormonal and non-hormonal options with your doctor.

Some workplaces have started to hold workshops to encourage dialogue about menopause, or implement menopause policies. AIA NZ has produced a Menopause toolkit, to help employees understand and support people going through menopause.

More information can be found at The Australasian Menopause Society website.