Join us at the Financial Advice NZ conference in 2025

Next year Financial Advice NZ will host its inaugural National Adviser Conference – Shaping The Future of Advice.

Chief Executive Officer Nick Hakes said

“The National Adviser Conference offers countless opportunities for all advisers to expand their knowledge in their own areas of expertise, and to connect with industry leaders, visiting fellows, international guests, other practitioners, and innovators in advice.”

“The National Adviser Conference is the best place for combining big-picture thinking around industry expectations, disruption and change with peer-to-peer collaboration.”

Speakers announced to date include:

• Dante de Gori, Global CEO of the Financial Planning Standards Board from the US

• Samantha Barras, Chief Executive Officer, Financial Markets Authority

• Sir Ian Taylor, NZ technology innovator and storyteller

• Dr Katherine Hunt PhD, Director Finology Institute, Portfolio Construction Forum, and

• Tim Farrelly, CIMA, Principal, farrelly’s Investment Strategy from Australia

The conference will take place at the Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre from 1 – 3 April 2025. Super Early Bird registration closes on 30 November 2024.

The Quotemonster team will look forward to seeing you there as we will be supporting the conference again. We are keen supporters of adviser-led and adviser-focused content and conversations. Having a space where you can meet as professionals and support each other in your career development is so valuable that we encourage you to attend and join us if you can.

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Apex Advice Group and OPM Insurance merge

Apex Advice Group and OPM Insurance have announced their strategic merger. OPM Insurance was founded by Oliver Pereira 17 years ago.

Craig Mulholland, Chief Executive of Apex Advice Group, said

“We are delighted to welcome OPM Insurance into the Apex Advice Group family. This partnership strengthens our position as a leading financial advisory firm and allows us to expand our reach and offerings. We are confident this will benefit our clients and drive continued growth.”

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Pharmac funding new HRT gel to aid Kiwi women with menopause symptoms

Fidelity Life announces growth plans

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.

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mySolutions webinar 'New tools from Quotemonster' 13 November

nib release their top 5 health claims for August 2024

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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.

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

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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. 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.

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More than 7,500 people made early KiwiSaver withdrawals during September

This week is Cyber Smart Week

Running from 21 – 27 October, Cyber Smart Week is here! With the theme of ‘The Scamathon’, it highlights the importance of being more secure online. Some key precautions you should be taking include:

• Using long, strong and unique passwords

• Using two-factor authentication (2FA)

• Reporting any suspected scams to your management or IT teams

• Turning on automatic updates

• Stopping to think before you click – could it be a scam?

Own your online has produced a 5-part video series about business online security – you can watch them all here.

• Episode 1 - How to protect your business: Learn why it’s important for your business to prioritise online security and how to start getting your business in better shape.

• Episode 2 - How to protect your online accounts: Learn about the most important protections you can put in place for your online accounts.

• Episode 3 - Protecting data and systems: Learn why it’s important to protect your data and your customers’ data and how to put these protections in place. Also learn how your business can best recover from an online attack.

• Episode 4 - Protect your website and social media: Learn how to put the right protections in place for your website and social media accounts.

• Episode 5 - How to spot phishing: Learn about the most common online attack – phishing – and how your business can avoid getting caught by it.

They are also running a series of online events around online security you can register to join.

·         Online security for individuals, 1pm, Monday 21 October 2024

·         Working together to improve cyber resilience across the health sector, 10:30am, Tuesday 22 October 2024

·         Online security for small businesses – simple steps for a big improvement, 3pm, Tuesday 22 October 2024

·         Supporting clients with cyber security - for mentors and advisors, 11am, Wednesday 23 October 2024

·         Financial sector cyber security threats and protections, 2pm, Wednesday 23 October 2024 

·         Online security for seniors, 1pm, Thursday 24 October 2024

·         Cyber security insights for tech professionals, 10:30am, Thursday 24 October 2024

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David Whyte calls for financial advisers to be exempt from CoFi

Julian Fayad believes AI could handle up to 80% of advisor loan deals within seven years

New Zealand’s headline inflation rate fell to 2.2% in the September quarter

Clive Fernandes launches a new AI venture aiming to automate 80% of KiwiSaver client-servicing tasks

KiwiSaver determined to be competitive

The latest Melville Jessup Weaver analysis has determined that KiwiSaver is statistically competitive. Competitiveness, as measured by the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI), improved slightly year on year. There are 38 schemes and 34 providers available for kiwis to choose from, with the three largest owners (ANZ, ASB and Fisher) accounting for around half of scheme members and assets. There was a slight shift in favour of providers outside the 10 largest, who expanded their market share by 0.5% during the 12 months to March 31.

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Financial Advice NZ webinar 'Setting the foundations: Pre-work strategies for seamless submissions' 30 October

Financial Advice NZ masterclass 'Influential Adviser: Mastering the Art of Communication' 22 -29 October

Banking Ombudsman Scheme received 6,054 cases

ANZ announce official partnership with Auckland Football Club

Government announce a pilot to increase childhood immunisations by training the Plunket workforce as vaccinators

Executive Team changes at Partners Life

From 1 October 2024, there will be some changes to the executive team at Partners Life. Andries van Graan, previously Chief of Adviser Distribution, will be Chief Distribution Officer. Kate Dron, previously Chief and Appointed Actuary, will be Chief Customer Solutions Officer.

Van Graan’s new role will focus on strengthening partnerships with independent financial advisers and working to amplify Partners Life’s customer referral partnership with BNZ.

Dron’s new role will focus on ensuring that Partners Life’s solutions service a wide range of customer needs with a particular focus on enhanced simplicity and accessibility and includes establishing a establishing a business led data, analytics, and insights team.

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Southern Cross has new Chief Communications & Brand Officer

Tony Reid has joined Southern Cross as its new chief communications & brand officer. Reid started the role in September and his remit is to enhance the organisation’s communications strategy and brand presence across health insurance and healthcare services. Reid has previously held leadership positions at Kiwibank, Suncorp New Zealand and the Financial Markets Authority.

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Southern Cross Health Society Group annual results released

Southern Medical Care Society Group has shared their annual results for the year ended 30 June 2024. By the numbers:

• Group deficit of $88.2 million after tax. $43.1 million of the deficit is attributable to a change in international financial reporting standards introduced this financial year. The balance of the deficit is driven by higher claims costs from a high inflationary environment combined with high member demand for private health services, particularly in the second half of the financial year.

• Group reserves of $470.7 million.

• Claims paid at a rate of $6 million per business day (up from $5.2 million in FY23).

• 15,196 net new members, with total membership now at 955,301.

• This represents 60% of the New Zealand health insurance market by customer numbers but 71% per cent of the value of all health insurance claims paid.

• 99% of claims were submitted electronically.

Southern Cross Health Insurance

• Reported a deficit of $99.1 million.

• Paid $1.498 billion in claims from $1.605 billion received in premiums.

• Claims costs increased 15% on FY23 (up 13.9% when adjusted for member growth).

• Premiums increased 9% on FY23 (up 6.6% when adjusted for member growth).

• 93.4 cents paid in claims from every dollar received in premiums (compared to an industry average excluding Southern Cross) of 73 cents.

• Operating costs grew by 4%, less than inflation.

• 3.2 million claims in FY24

• 50% of members claimed over the financial year.

• 39,326 virtual GP consultations with Care HQ.

• 4,635 annual health check-ups with MedPro.

• 4,016 online mental health sessions with Raise.

• Net promoter score of 53.7%.

 Nick Astwick, Chief Executive for Southern Cross Health Society said

“We have never been in more demand by our members as they prioritise their health needs, largely in the private system. In 2019 33% of our membership claimed, last year it was 50%.”

“The cost of claims in 2024 was steep and rapid, driven by a combination of price, volume, and the mix of claims. The growth in the volume of claims results from an increase in the number of members claiming, the frequency, and claims being made for more expensive procedures.”

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2024 Haven award winners announced

Committee recommended changes to the Contracts of Insurance Bill

Travis Hamilton says Total and permanent disability (TPD) cover is being underestimated

Jon-Paul Hale suggests ways insurers can improve systems for advisers

Tony Vidler recommends how advisers can value themselves appropriately

The Government has completed a cost-benefit analysis for potential third medical school

Wayne Langford appointed to the Board of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission