Online Monsters In March event

You may have noticed in our recent communications that we are holding a few events in in Auckland and Christchurch. For those of you outside of these areas (or if you were unable to attend in person) we are hosting online versions of the events on the 27th of March.

These events are a must-attend for advisers looking to refine their expertise, embrace new opportunities, and integrate cutting-edge research into their practice.

There will be three separate sessions – one on business insurance, one on personal insurance and one on KiwiSaver. You can choose whether to attend all three sessions or pick one or two.

You can register for the 40-minute sessions using these links and there is further information on these sessions below. You need to register for each of the three sessions you would like to attend.

 9am – Business Insurance Session

10am – Personal Insurance Session

11am – KiwiSaver Session

 Session 1: Business Insurance – Unlocking Growth & Overcoming Barriers

Explore the untapped potential of Business Risk Insurance and learn how to navigate this lucrative market. This session provides a deep dive into the New Zealand business landscape and identifying opportunities for advisers.

Session 2: Personal Insurance – Navigating Market Shifts & Research Innovations

Stay ahead of industry trends and leverage independent research to strengthen your advice process. This session covers critical developments in the personal insurance market and our research tools.

Session 3: KiwiSaver – Strengthening Advice for Better Retirement Outcomes

Enhance your KiwiSaver advice strategy with independent research and expert insights. This session highlights the importance of adviser-led KiwiSaver recommendations and the tools available to support better decision-making.

Benefits of attending these event include:

 ·        Explore the latest new research and platform enhancements firsthand

·        Gain insights from expert speakers

·        Earn valuable CPD credits

·        Unlock exclusive access to extended free trials

Legal and regulatory update for the life and health insurance sector

18 Mar 2025 - NZ IFRS 18 Presentation and Disclosure in Financial Statements is mandatory for all Tier 1 and Tier 2 for-profit entities from 1 January 2027. Entities will likely need to update their systems, record-keeping and the financial statement preparation process by this date. NZ IFRS 18 will replace NZ IAS 1 Presentation of Financial Statements and introduces several new requirements, including

• New categories and subtotals in the statement of profit or loss

• Disclosure requirements for management-defined performance measures

• Enhanced guidance on grouping (aggregation and disaggregation) of information

https://www.xrb.govt.nz/news/latest-news/

18 Mar 2025 - The XRB is holding a need-to-know webinar update session on 8 April at 12:30pm, which will include a high-level overview of the new NZ IFRS 18 requirements. https://www.xrb.govt.nz/news/latest-news/

18 Mar 2025 - The XRB are seeking feedback on proposed NZ IFRS 18 RDR concessions for Tier 2 for-profit entities via an open consultation. Consultation closes 29 May 2025. https://www.xrb.govt.nz/consultations/accounting-standards-open-for-consultation/rdr-concessions-nz-ifrs-18/

18 Mar 2025 - The XRB publish 'Transition planning - Guidance for staff'. This guide is for staff involved in coordinating or leading the transition planning process in their organisation. It covers the thinking and related business processes to develop a transition plan, as well as the drafting of the transition plan itself. https://www.xrb.govt.nz/dmsdocument/5342/

18 Mar 2025 - The FMA has filed criminal charges against former financial adviser David McEwen, for failing to comply with an FMA stop order, due to concerns he is still contacting potential investors. https://www.fma.govt.nz/news/all-releases/media-releases/criminal-charges-against-david-mcewen/

20 Mar 2025 - FMA releases ‘5 mins with the FMA’ podcast #11: Outcomes Focused Regulation. https://www.fma.govt.nz/library/podcast/5-mins-with-the-fma-podcast-11/

21 Mar 2025 - The RBNZ has been named as the winner of two categories in this year’s Central Banking awards - the Corporate Services Initiative Award for their Information Management Uplift, and the Green Award for their climate stress testing work. https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/hub/news/2025/03/rbnz-takes-out-two-wins-in-this-years-central-banking-awards

Monsters in March off to a great start

We’ve kicked off our Monsters in March event series, holding the first session in Remuera on 18 March and the second session in Christchurch on 20 March. Thanks to the 150+ advisers that showed up to hear about personal insurance, business insurance or KiwiSaver advice. And thank you to all of our sponsors and speakers for making it happen.

Here’s a few photos from the events so far.

We’ll be holding a last on the North Shore in Auckland on 25 March – hope to see you there!

More news:

Fidelity Life will host a workshop at FANZ conference

mySolutions Member Benefits day is on 19 March

mySolutions webinar 'Artificial Intelligence: is it for you?' 26 March

Southern Cross Health Insurance appoint Russell Simpson Chief of Healthcare Partnerships

Registrations open for the Million Dollar Round Table’s Annual Meeting in Miami in June

Advisers originate about 70% of Kiwibank’s mortgages by volume

TAP are looking for a Senior .NET Core Developer

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

Product and pricing changes at Partners Life

Partners Life have announced a range of product changes, effective from 15 March 2025, aimed at giving customers more flexibility and the option to remove features if they don’t want to pay for them.

• The built-in Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) Benefit will become a TPD Option. If a client opts out of TPD, the premium for their monthly disability cover will reduce accordingly. This change applies to Mortgage Repayment Cover, Household Expenses Covers and Income Cover Agreed Value, Agreed Loss of Earnings and Indemnity Loss of Earnings.

• They have made changes to Trauma Cover and Moderate Trauma Cover for clients who have suffered an out of hospital cardiac arrest. They have removed obsolete medical requirements, and added current diagnostic tools used by medical staff to confirm a cardiac arrest has occurred. The wording has been updated to allow for new and future diagnostic tools.

• They have updated Trauma, Moderate Trauma and Severe Trauma Cover wordings to let clients know that Partners Life will notify them when they can exercise their Life Cover or Deferred Trauma Cover buy-back options.

Any beneficial enhancements to policy wordings are automatically applied to existing in-force policies under the Guaranteed Upgrade of Future Benefits feature.

In addition to the product changes, Partners Life have reviewed premiums, in light of increased volume and cost of medical claims. Premiums for Private Medical Cover including Specialists and Tests Option will increase by 18% and the policy fee will increase from $58.08 to $64.13 per annum, both from 22nd April 2025.

More news:

FSC25 Conference: Transforming for Tomorrow is on 10 - 11 September in Auckland

The Rising Stars in Insurance Seminar expands to more cities

Managing risks posed by Artificial Intelligence in the banking Sector

70% of NZ CEOs say AI has increased efficiencies in their employees’ time at work

Legal and regulatory update for the life and health insurance sector

11 Mar 2025 - Assistant Governor/General Manager Information, Data and Analytics Kate Kolich will be leaving RBNZ at the end of March 2025. https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/hub/news/2025/03/general-manager-information-data-and-analytics-departs

13 Mar 2025 - The FMA publishes speech by Craig Stobo to the Institute of Directors and New Zealand Initiative. https://www.fma.govt.nz/library/speeches-and-presentations/speech-by-craig-stobo-to-the-institute-of-directors-and-nz-initiative/

13 Mar 2025 - Final report on the 2023/24 Annual review of the Pharmaceutical Management Agency (PHARMAC) was published by the Health Committee. https://selectcommittees.parliament.nz/v/6/c493f47b-6545-4a41-1243-08dd61b37e3c

14 Mar 2025 - The FSC publish their March 2025 Regulatory Forecast, available to FSC members.

17 Mar 2025 - The Police’s Financial Intelligence Unit have released the latest National Risk Assessment for 2024. https://www.police.govt.nz/sites/default/files/publications/fiu-nra-2024.pdf

17 Mar 2025 - The RBNZ has welcomed the release of the latest National Risk Assessment (NRA) from Police’s Financial Intelligence Unit. The report assesses threat and sectoral vulnerability, exploring their impact on money laundering and terrorism financing risk and proliferation financing in New Zealand. https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/hub/news/2025/03/reserve-bank-supports-the-release-of-the-new-zealand-national-risk-assessment

17 Mar 2025 - The FMA are considering a class exemption to provide relief from certain reporting, audit and assurance obligations under the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013 and the Financial Markets Conduct Regulations 2014 for registered Managed Investment Schemes that are in wind-up. Consultation closes 12 May 2025. https://www.fma.govt.nz/business/focus-areas/consultation/consultation-proposed-reporting-audit-and-assurance-exemptions-for-schemes-in-wind-up/

What’s the biggest health claim paid for a procedure?

The health insurance industry has been experiencing a time of rising medical costs, where both volume of claims and inflation have been increasing. We’ve taken a closer look at individual claims values that a few insurers have released recently. As you can see from the data below, the costs of individual claims can be astronomical.

nib regularly publish their top 5 health claims by month. RiskinfoNZ has an article collating historical nib’s top health claims by month here.

nib’s top health claims for January 2025

Treatment                     Cost              Gender              Age

Spinal surgery               $101,000         Male                   16

Cardiac surgery           $85,000           Male                   46

Cardiac surgery           $56,000           Male                   70

Cardiac surgery           $54,000           Female               70

Digestive surgery          $53,000          Male                   72

nib’s top health claims for December 2024

Treatment                      Cost                Gender               Age

Cardiac surgery            $103,000          Male                   72

Cancer surgery             $102,000          Male                   77

Cardiac surgery            $93,000            Male                   80

Cardiac surgery            $88,000            Male                   76

Spinal surgery                $87,000            Male                   48

But these do not top the charts of what we are currently aware. Southern Cross’s most expensive surgical claims were $256,165 for a spinal fusion procedure and $127,191 for a breast reconstruction.

While Partners Life don’t release a similar monthly overview of their top claims, their ‘The story behind our claims’ slideshow highlights their largest single payouts since 2011. The most expensive claims paid out were a whopping $1.6 million+ for Total and Permanent Disability or Income cover; $2.9million +for Life cover; $3.2million + for Trauma cover and $982,000+ for Private Medical Cover.

While the majority of claims won’t cost anywhere near as much, what used to be ample caps of some older medical values don’t seem so rosy in light of recent inflation and surging claims costs. Yet we haven’t seen any insurers coming out and indexing claims caps. We think that’s wrong, and we’ll offer a score boost to the first insurer who offers indexed caps.

What types of claims have you heard of and how did they go? We would love to hear more from you, especially if you are a Quotemonster subscriber, through our adviser claims experience tool (check the side menu when you are next logged in).

More news:

mySolutions webinar 'What got you here, won't get you there' 19 March

Steve Wright on potential implications of government’s plan to use private health care facilities for public health treatments

Good Returns has an interesting article by Steve Wright considering some of the implications of what may happen if the government goes ahead with their reported plan to consider using private health care facilities to reduce elective surgery waiting lists. Aside from the obvious benefits of kiwis on public health waiting lists potentially getting treated quicker, Wright considers some potential downsides, from reduced pressure to improve public sector capacity, to the private sector becoming overwhelmed or people ditching their health insurance and the private sectors viability coming into question.

We think these risks are low, given the scale of the intervention proposed by Minister Brown – just $50m to be spent between March and the end of June. For context, ACC will purchase around $500m in surgery in the 2023/24 year, and the total New Zealand Health budget is circa $16.6 billion. For an individual who gets a needed surgery a little faster, we are delighted, but this intervention is unlikely to make a big impact.

More news:

Partners Life new training module ‘Fair Treatment of Customers’

Fidelity Life offers drought-affected Taranaki customers premium relief

The FMA is on track to approve 77 licence applications under CoFI regime

Finance Minister Nicola Willis is reassessing the capital held by banks

Nominations for the Financial Advice New Zealand Awards open

The Financial Advice New Zealand Awards 2025 will be held at the National Adviser conference on Thursday 3 April, at the Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre. Nominations are open now, with submissions closing at 5pm on Friday 21 March.

• The Financial Capability Advocate Award: presented to an individual or organisation that has made a significant effort to promote financial capability and education. The recipient of this award has played a crucial role in providing financial education to help others understand financial concepts and make informed decisions about their finances.

• The Community Impact Award: recognition of an individual or organisation that has achieved excellent results in improving social and financial outcomes within a community.

• The Lifetime Achievement Award: a prestigious honour given to an individual who has made a significant contribution throughout their career or lifetime to the financial services sector. It recognises their outstanding achievements, leadership, and selfless dedication to creating a positive impact on the financial advice profession.

More news:

Financial services institutions ranked among the worst for customer wait times

Health Minister outlines 5 key priorities for Health NZ

Deloitte release independent report ‘Financial Review of Health New Zealand’

Kym Maynard & Lindsey Reagan named as Insurance Business’ Elite Women 2025

ANZ customers make more than one million open banking payments

FSC release latest research report ‘Women and Finance in New Zealand’

The Financial Services Council (FSC) have released their ‘Insights and Trends: Women and finance in New Zealand’ 2025 report. With International Women’s Day being celebrated this month, the report aims to better understand how women and finances interact. Some of the key findings include:

• FSC research from December 2021 found that over 80% of female respondents considered their financial wellbeing as moderate to very low, with just under 64% of respondents reporting they worried about money at least monthly. By 2024, 70% of women were reporting worrying about money on a daily or weekly (in comparison, 51% of men reported worrying about money on a daily or weekly basis in 2024).

• Despite reported underconfidence, FSC research has found that women are more financially literate than men overall, with 66% of women answering at least 75% of financial trivia questions correct, compared to 57% of men.

• Women (61%) are more likely to be in debt than men (43%).

• Women are more likely to be working part-time, have full-time home duties or be unemployed (43%) than the equivalent for men (14%).

• 58% of women say they are not particularly financially prepared or not financially prepared at all for retirement.

Last Year, Te Ara Ahunga Ora Retirement Commission found that the retirement gap between men and women has not improved, remaining fixed at a 25% difference since 2023. FSC CEO Kirk Hope said

"The current KiwiSaver settings disadvantages those who take career breaks, disproportionately affecting women who pause their earnings to care for or start their families.

It’s encouraging to see the Government make steps to start to address this, with those receiving paid parental leave from July 2024 being able to choose to make KiwiSaver contributions, and Inland Revenue making employer contributions of 3%.”

More news:

nib release their top 5 health claims for January 2025

nib announce nib Balance – a new health tool integrated into the my nib app

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has acquired RMA General Limited

Shaw Financial Insurance & Investments is merging with Apex Advice

AMP are looking for a Product Lead to join their Retail team

Government agrees to progressively lower the age of eligibility for bowel cancer screening tests to 58