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.
What does a business version of the healthy futures report mean?
Southern Cross’s business edition of the 2024 Healthy Futures Report focuses on employee health and wellbeing.
We took a look at Southern Cross’s business edition of the 2024 Healthy Futures Report, which focuses on employee health and wellbeing. There are clear links between wealth and health, as the old saying has it. Whether one causes the other and in which direction the arrow of causality points is unexplored. We think it’s probably more complicated than this simple pairing of factors, although if someone becomes wealthy, they often become healthier. Likewise, if someone has the misfortune to become chronically ill, they usually get poorer. But these two are probably joined by other factors which may also have some power to affect outcomes – like education while young, health while a child, and current environment.
What employers can do to help is limited – but is appreciated by staff. At Quality Product Research Limited we offer seven of the eleven key suggestions made (soon to be expanded to eight) – we like that we can do that – but people use or do not use them pretty much as they please.
Key takeaways for us from the survey results:
89% of respondents said it was important to them to work for a company that supports the health and wellbeing of their staff.
55% of respondents’ employers were doing well in supporting their employees.
The top ten initiatives employers could invest in were wellbeing leave (36%), lunch or break room (29%), flu vaccinations (26%), healthy food options (25%), activities promoting good mental health (23%), workplace massage (23%), Employee Assistance Programme (22%), health assessments (21%), subsidised membership to off-site facilities (21%) and stress management programmes (20%).
88% of employees think having a good work-life balance is important, with a third considering taking steps to improve their work-life balance.
Making use of flexible working hours (43%) and switching off from work when finished for the day (43%) were the most common means of managing work-life balance. Conversely, having a high work load (60%), financial pressures (40%) and not having flexible working hours (40%) were cited as most commonly as reasons for poor work-life balance.
51% of workplaces offer flexible working arrangements, down from 54% in 2022; 60% of employees make use of flexible working hours most weeks and an additional 26% utilise it sometimes.
Only 45% of kiwis rate themselves as happy with their financial situation; 91% cite cost of living as one of their top concerns and 58% worry about not having enough money to support themselves or their families.
84% of New Zealanders are concerned about not having good, affordable access to healthcare, up 8% from 2022.
Kiwis don’t feel they are getting enough sleep (60%) or exercise (62%).
New Zealanders without health insurance were more likely to be less happy with their health, financial situation, mental wellbeing, fitness levels, weight of themselves and their children, exercised less on average and were more likely to be stressed.
Southern Cross highlight a series of initiatives workplaces could take to improve employee wellbeing, including:
offering education on stress management and financial management;
offering free fruit or healthy food in breakrooms;
encouraging employees to make use of flexible working if it’s offered;
offering health assessments;
educating employees on the importance of flu vaccinations;
offer opportunities for physical exercise, through work place team sports, sports day or subsidies for gyms or exercise equipment;
encouraging employees to take their annual leave;
training leaders to identify those at risk of burn-out;
offering wellbeing leave;
providing employee assistance programmes and educating employees on what it is and hot to use it;
offering subsidised health insurance.
1,463 employees were surveyed for this report in March 2024.
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NZ banks begin rollout of the confirmation of payments service from November 2024
Centrix’s latest ‘Credit Indicator Report' finds 461,000 people are behind on their payments
The Monetary Policy Committee cut the Official Cash Rate to 4.75%
BNZ has launched a new security feature aimed at combating online scams
Southern Cross release their Healthy Futures Report
Southern Cross have released the Healthy Futures Report 2024, which surveyed 2,000 New Zealanders about their health and wellbeing behaviours.
Southern Cross have released the Healthy Futures Report 2024, which surveyed 2,000 New Zealanders about their health and wellbeing behaviours. Some of the key findings include:
The biggest concerns for New Zealanders were the cost of living (91%); violence in society (86%); not having access to good, affordable healthcare (84%); and affordable housing, mental health and not having access to cancer treatment services all at 82%.
Health professionals remain the main source of health information (64%), followed by online articles/websites (52%), but social media is increasing in popularity with young people and Pasifika people (up 6% to 27%).
A majority of people seek treatment immediately (12%) or within a day or two (47%), though 10% usually don’t seek professional advice or treatment.
The main barriers to accessing healthcare include cost (35%) and wait times being too long (34%). There has been a jump in people not being able to access healthcare at the time they want (up 4% to 20%).
When it comes to dental treatment, the main barriers are cost (60%) and not being covered by medical treatment (13%).
New Zealander’s define ‘healthy’ as mental wellbeing (70%), avoiding smoking and tobacco (70%), getting enough sleep (67%), eating a balanced diet (67%) and emotional wellbeing (66%).
Physical health concerns include level of fitness (65%), making sure kids eat healthy foods (65%), long term physical health effects (65%) and family health and wellbeing (65%).
The average kiwi exercises for 30 minutes, three times a week – 61% don’t feel they are getting enough exercise. Being too tired (33%) and not having enough time (32%) continue to be the main barriers to exercising.
While 92% of kiwis consider themselves knowledgeable about what healthy food is, 82% consider healthy eating to be expensive and 74% would like to lose weight.
·The top emotional wellbeing concerns are concentrated around family, with kiwis concerned about whether their children will cope with the pressures of life (60%), not having enough money to support myself/my family (55%) and parents/relatives getting elderly and needing care (51%).
Only 44% of New Zealanders consider themselves as getting enough sleep, with those living with kids or living with a disability being more sleep deprived than others. Reasons given for not getting enough sleep included having too much to think about (49%), going to bed too late (41%) and being anxious or stressed (40%).
While 88% consider work life balance to be important, only 33% consider they currently have a good balance. Factors kiwis consider as important to achieving a good work/life balance include having flexible working hours (43%), switching off from work when finished for the day (43%) and sticking to set work hours (34%). Conversely, factors contributing to a negative work/life balance include workload being too high (60%), financial pressures (46%) and not having flexible working hours (40%).
Actions New Zealanders are taking to look after their emotional health and wellbeing include keeping your brain stimulated (60%), spending time outdoors (58%), nurturing and maintaining relationships (54%) and spending more time with family (52%).
More news:
AIA revise launch date for Accidental Injury cover
Partners Life New Adviser Training Course on 21 October
Finger-prick blood test developed to detect the hallmark protein in early Alzheimer’s
Te Whatu Ora and West Coast Health propose closing all after hours GP services
Changes announced to the way police respond to mental health call-outs
AIA celebrate 5 years of AIA Vitality
AIA have released some statistics about AIA Vitality to celebrate five years of AIA Vitality being in the market
AIA have released some statistics about AIA Vitality to celebrate five years of AIA Vitality being in the market.
To date, over 60,000 people have joined AIA Vitality.
On average, an AIA Vitality member in New Zealand completes a health and wellbeing assessment available in the app every 15 minutes.
AIA Vitality members have completed over 18,500 free Vitality Health Checks.
Since becoming AIA Vitality members:
79% have moved to a healthy glucose range from an unhealthy glucose range.
64% have moved to a healthy cholesterol level from an unhealthy level.
49% have moved to a healthy blood pressure range from an unhealthy range.
Less than 50% of New Zealanders meet the recommended guidelines of 2.5 hours of weekly physical activity but 95% of AIA Vitality Silver+ members meet this target.
AIA Vitality members combined have walked the length of New Zealand 1,295 times.
Members have achieved over 86,800 Status Reward vouchers and 976,500 Active Rewards vouchers – a combined worth of $9.1 million in rewards.
To celebrate the anniversary, AIA is giving customers who activate their AIA Vitality membership by 31 October the chance to win one of 20 Woolworths Gift Cards, each worth $500. Existing AIA Vitality members who hit their $5 weekly physical activity target anytime between 5 August and 1 September, go in the draw to win 1 of 5 Apple Store Gift Cards worth $729.
AIA have recently made some improvements to AIA Vitality, with a new AIA Vitality app with enhanced features and functionality being launched in April this year.
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AIA offer clients a chance to win a year's insurance
The FSC runs a Money Month campaign on Money and You website
Partners Life and Banqer launch free financial literacy course
AIA appoint Bianca Bettini as new AIA Vitality Coach
Andrew Bayly says the CCCFA’s director and senior management liability provisions to stay
Westpac connect Volley to their Open Banking platform
Bell Gully put together an overview of the Customer Data Right bill and the CDR framework
Finance Minister says she wants external investors for outside capital for Kiwibank
GP’s having to raise fees after insufficient government funding increase
Chubb Life appoint new General Manager – Distribution
Chubb Life have appointed Chris Hand to the role of General Manager – Distribution.
Chubb Life have appointed Chris Hand to the role of General Manager – Distribution, replacing David Haak who resigned in December last year. Hand has over 20 years’ experience in a variety of insurance roles, from case and claims management to sales and relationship management. Hand will begin his new role on 1 April.
More daily news:
Fidelity Life ask for feedback on their Working together guide
Tony Vidler writes of the importance of focusing on sales activity
FSC & Women in Super NZ Launch 27 March
Financial Advice NZ webinar 'Managing in times of pressure, with Kay Chapman' 10am 21 February
mySolutions webinar presented by Glen Hatcher, 9am 28 February
TAP launching monthly 'Industry Intel' e-newsletter
The Australian Competition Tribunal approves the sale of Suncorp Bank to ANZ
Swiss Re write about Health and Wellness engagement impacts
Swiss Re have published a report on how to engage customers with a health and wellness programme.
Swiss Re have published a report on how to engage customers with a health and wellness programme. They write how the proliferation of health apps and wearables has led to consumers having more data about their health and lifestyle than ever before. Two thirds of consumers are open to sharing personal data or health results in return for a benefit, whether that’s personalised health advice, discounts or something else.
For insurers there are many benefits, from increasing the frequency of touchpoints, building customer loyalty and maximising lifetime customer value. For consumers the benefits include more relevant products, better price points, meaningful financial incentives and rewards and, best of all, improved health and longevity.
Swiss Re calculated that a successful program with a 25% engagement rate can be ROI positive, after accounting for the costs of launching and running the health and wellness engagement programme including policyholder rewards, premium reductions, initial setup costs and ongoing costs. If engagement rises to 40%, profitability can be up to 9% higher compared to not having a programme in place.
John Hancock in the USA is hiring behavioural scientists and drawing on gamification elements to help encourage policyholders to lead healthier lives. For example, when customers hit an activity threshold they can spin a wheel to win rewards.
Insurance Thought Leadership discuss the success of the Vitality programme. Vitality aims to increase people’s healthspan, the time in a person’s life where they experience optimal health, through a behaviour change incentive programme. Policyholders are nudged towards healthier lifestyle choices that they’re rewarded for in various ways including discounted premiums, discounts at places like gyms and free health checks. They list benefits of the programme to the insurer including reduced frequency and severity of claims, high engagement of policyholders and high levels of retention. Over the last three decades,
“Discovery's three-decade journey provides robust evidence that a significant increase in the level of physical activity reduces by 49% the mortality for individuals aged 45 to 65, and a remarkable 61% reduction for those older. Positive impacts have further manifested within annual medical expenditures, where the most engaged participants have 15% lower claim costs than the less engaged, risk-adjusted by age and medical conditions. A longitudinal study on the people who showed a low level of physical activity during the initial six-month period showed a subsequent 14% reduction in hospital medical costs for the subgroup that notably elevated their engagement levels over the ensuing four and a half years.”
AIA NZ have recently released statistics on how AIA Vitality has contributed to notable shifts in health metrics. By September 2023 there was a 20% increase in members moving from an unhealthy body mass index (BMI) range to a healthier one. Similarly, there was a 51% improvement in blood pressure levels, 26% in cholesterol levels, and 81% in glucose levels.
Could weight loss drug companies overtake fitness related companies on Wall Street?
The huge uptake of weight-loss drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy is propelling their stocks to ever higher values.
The huge uptake of weight-loss drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy is propelling their stocks to ever higher values. JP Morgan has predicted that sales of GLP-1 drugs will hit $100 billion by 2030 – perhaps not surprising given that a whopping 7 percent of the entire US population is expected to be using these drugs in the next 10 years.
At the same time fitness related companies such as Peloton (an internet-connected exercise equipment and media company whose shares peaked during lockdown) shares are waning in value.
We’ll just have to wait and see how this tracks over the next few years.
nib release their 2023 State of the Nation Parenting Survey
nib have released their 2023 State of the Nation Parenting Survey, which has found parental concern for children’s mental health has skyrocketed and shows just how severely the current cost of living crisis is affecting families. The survey canvassed the views of 1,206 parents, step-parents and guardians across NZ in June 2023.
Some of the key findings include:
46% of all parents say their biggest worry for their children is the future state of their mental health (up from 40% in 2022).
57% say they are worried about their children’s current mental health.
49% of parents say they are concerned about their child’s physical health (which increases to 59% of Māori parents).
Parents reported the top three physical health concerns impacting their children as sleeping problems (34%), behavioural issues like tantrums, problematic eating and bullying (28%) and diet and exercise (25%).
46% of parents have health insurance (up from 44% in 2022), with 64% having made a claim. Key reasons for taking up private health insurance were peace of mind (52%), quicker access to health services (48%) and confidence they can access health services (48%).
31% of parents are unable to access the support they need to address their child's health concerns.
The survey found that almost all kiwi parents were facing financial stress (93% of households).
49% of parents said financial uncertainty is the main source of household stress (up from 41% in 2022 and 35% in 2021).
66% of parents’ top concern for their kids’ future is cost of living.
19% of parents have gone without essentials such as petrol, heating or skipping meals over the last year.
Food choices are being impacted by increasing financial pressures, with 52% of parents saying they are eating less or differently; 23% keeping grocery spend the same but eating less; 51% eating less fresh vegetables; and 40% eating more processed foods.
Parents have said that increasing costs are negatively affecting their relationships and social lives with 31% reporting a negative impact on their relationship with their partner, 42% having their social lives and connection to friends negatively affected and 25% experiencing a negative impact on the amount of time spent with their children.
14% of families are choosing to delay having more children.
13% of families’ main caregiver is needing to return to work.
Nathan Wallis, nib’s resident parenting expert and neuroscience educator has some tips for families doing it tough right now.
“Parents are under increasing financial pressure and many feel like they don’t have the time, energy or resources to care for their kids and look after themselves but it’s really important that parents find ways to look after their own wellbeing”.
“It’s really important that parents look after their own mental and physical health so that they can show up for their kids. Proactively looking after your own health and wellbeing also has the added benefit of role modelling good behaviours to your kids. When parents role model healthy eating habits and exercise their kids tend to follow”.
“It might be as simple as coming together for a family meal or taking the kids for a walk or kick a ball around at the park. These healthy habits are great ways to bond with your kids and set them up for success”.
More daily news:
Southern Cross Health Insurance launch Wayfinder Awards
Southern Cross Health Society is recruiting for a Communications Executive
Fidelity Life has two finalists in the NZ Women in Security Awards
AIA, ANZ, BNZ, Westpac have finalists at the NZ Law Awards
Financial Services Federation director wants to salvage something from CoFI preparations
Financial Advice New Zealand release ‘Value of Financial Planning Consumer Research 2023’ report
Financial Advice New Zealand’s latest study on the value of financial planning has been released. The study was undertaken in February 2023 and questioned 1,001 New Zealanders over 25 years old who earned over $90,000 per annum or held over $50,000 of investable assets on the value of working with a financial planner.
Some highlights from the report include:
· 68% of clients of financial planners are highly satisfied with their wealth versus 33% of unadvised consumers.
· 9 in 10 of those who have seen a certified financial planner feel financially secure.
· 9 in 10 clients of certified financial planner say the benefits of financial planning outweigh the costs.
· Those who haven’t engaged with a financial planner report unmet financial needs, with 2 in 5 worried about enough money to live on, 1 in 3 worried about the ability to live their desired lifestyle and 1 in 3 not having a realistic plan for a comfortable retirement.
· 99% of those who have engaged a certified financial planner trust they are acting in the client’s best interest
· 100% of those who have engaged a certified financial planner are likely to continue the relationship with their financial planner.
· Clients reported the top benefits of working with a financial planner as better financial decision-making confidence; having simplify and explain financial matters; improved financial wellbeing and peace of mind; improved confidence in ability to achieve desired standard of living.
The report also has some interesting information on the different ways different generations like to engage with financial planners.
More daily news:
AIA special offer could save clients up to 31% in premiums
Partners Life is switching to email communication for customers who want it
Katrina Shanks writes of findings on the value of financial planning services
Katrina Shanks is confident she's leaving Financial Advice NZ with a good framework in place
mySolutions are holding roadshows across the country in November
Official Cash Rate remains at 5.50%
FSC calls for a comprehensive review of KiwiSaver
Nominations for Insurance Business’s annual Elite Women are open
Malcolm Mulholland laments the lack of funded medicines in NZ
Sleep regularity is important for longevity
2023 Value of an Adviser Report out now
Russell Investments have published their 2023 Value of an Adviser report. In 2023 they rated the value of an adviser in New Zealand at approximately 5.9%. Russell Investments refer to how an adviser’s role has broadened over time from that of a simple stockbroker to an agent who can help with everything from insurance needs to legacy planning. Some of the highlights from the report are below.
· One of their key tenets is an adviser can act as a behavioural coach, helping clients take a long-term view. Sometimes that will involve taking a step back and removing the emotions from financial decisions.
· They write of how advisers will need to personalise their offerings, and how that personalisation can mean different things to different generations.
· Planning needs to be done on a regular basis to keep in step with a client’s changing needs.
· The adviser acts as a guide during the entire process of a client’s financial plan, pulling in experts (such as accountants, estate lawyers) where required.
· They point out time is often an adviser’s scarcest resource and encourage advisers to look at low value activities that could be stopped or reduced.
I’d also suggest looking at opportunities for outsourcing or better utilising technology such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) to help reduce the burden of administrative tasks or deliver better engagement. Quotemonster have recently made some enhancements to our service using AI to pull through information from insurer quotes and automatically input into your Quotemonster Client and Benefit Details and we’ve also added voice to text conversion in the needs analysis fields, cutting down on administration time for advisers.
If you’re interested in finding out more about AI in the insurance space, we wrote a use case for AI including challenges, limitations, beneficial areas and potential use examples in our June 2023 quarterly report. If you would like a demo of any of Chatswood Consulting subscription services or to purchase a past report, please get in touch with Kelly Pulham on 021 311 660 or email kelly.pulham@chatswood.co.nz.
More daily news:
AIA NZ welcomes Snap Fitness as a new gym partner and provider of AIA Vitality Fitness Assessments
Wotton + Kearney release 2023 NZ Insurance Market Trends Update
Wotton + Kearney have released their 2023 NZ Insurance Market Trends Update. Of note, it includes updates on:
· increase in director accountability for ESG issues and climate-related financial disclosures;
· how organisations will need to consider how applicable tikanga values should inform their conduct when dealing with employment relationship issues;
· how organisations need rigorous processes in place for restructures and redundancies;
· extensions to Schedule 2 Occupational Diseases;
· changes to the regulation of medicines, medical devices and natural health products;
· the passing of the Therapeutic Products Bill 2023;
· cyber, privacy and data security.
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Cost of living crisis is changing conversations advisers are having with clients
Katrina Shanks writes of the importance of quality financial advice
mySolutions webinar 'Are you maximising your marketing potential' 9am 27 September
27% of 4,120 claims received by IFSO were related to health, life and disability insurance
Lifetime webinar 'Your Homeownership Adventure Begins Here' 7pm 27 September
Man trying to claim pregnancy care on his health insurance policy has complaint turned down by IFSO
Alzheimer’s Society recommends regular exercise to cut dementia risk