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.
Government announces reforms to strengthen NZ’s capital markets
The Government has announced a package of reforms to help ensure New Zealand’s capital markets are working to support a productive economy.
The Government has announced a package of reforms to help ensure New Zealand’s capital markets are working to support a productive economy. The Government is making it easier for businesses to raise money from the public by making it voluntary to provide forward-looking financial information as part of an Initial Public Offering of shares. These changes are expected to be in place by May 2025.
The Government has also opened consultation on two proposals: enabling KiwiSaver investment in private assets; and potential adjustments to the climate-related disclosures regime. Consultation closes 14 February 2025.
The Financial Services Council (FSC) has expressed strong support for enabling KiwiSaver funds to invest in unlisted assets. FSC CEO Kirk Hope said,
“By enabling KiwiSaver investments in unlisted assets, such as infrastructure projects and innovative New Zealand businesses, we can unlock substantial capital for domestic growth.”
“This reform will not only provide Kiwi businesses with much-needed capital to innovate and expand but the opportunity of greater diversification for KiwiSaver.”
Some financial advisers warn that regulators need to get on board with the proposals, however. At a recent event we held in conjunction with the Financial Services Council, advisers asked questions about whether the Financial Markets Authority would be supportive of fund managers choosing to invest more in private assets and infrastructure projects which tend to be illiquid in nature. We think that these are good questions, and the answers will be highly sensitive to the context in each fund: for example, the scale of the investments relative to the total fund size and the liquidity of other assets, and the ages, balances, and probable withdrawal patterns of investing members.
More news:
Fidelity Life discounts on certain exclusions for Trauma covers are live
AIA release updated Working with AIA Guide
AIA webinar 'Webinar - Guide to Medical Conditions' 28 February
More locations offering AIA Vitality Fitness Assessments & Health Checks
Steve Wright dissects a recent FSCL complaint
nib promotion offers $300 woolworths vouchers to eligible applicants
Advice Link has appointed of a new general manager Sébastien Pierre
Tony Vidler writes of the importance of soft skills
Government announces hikes to ACC levies
Chapter Zero discusses experiences from year one of New Zealand's mandatory climate reporting
Significant increase in cyber incidents across New Zealand in Q3 2024
Resolution Life purchased by Nippon Life
Nippon Life Insurance Company is set to acquire full ownership of Resolution Life Australasia and the remaining 20% stake in MLC Life Insurance currently held by National Australia Bank.
MLC Life Insurance and Resolution Life Australasia will merge under a new brand, Acenda. The merger is expected to be finalised in the second half of 2025, subject to regulatory approvals. MLC Life Insurance, will begin the transition to the Acenda brand from December 2024, targeting late 2025 to complete the transition. Once the merger is complete, Resolution Life Australasia will move to the Acenda brand in Australia, with the intention to transition the Resolution New Zealand business to the Acenda brand ‘in due course’.
Resolution Life Australasia is currently in the process of acquiring Asteron Life, Suncorp Group’s New Zealand life insurance business, which will operate as a standalone entity post-acquisition.
Tim Tez, CEO of Resolution Life Australasia, said
“New Zealand remains an important market for both Resolution Life Australasia and Nippon Life. [The] announcement will not impact our focus on completing the acquisition of Asteron Life and our support of the business’ current strategic growth agenda.”
More news:
Fidelity Life accepted 93% of all new claims in FY24
Westpac has unveiled its GDP nowcasting model
Semi-Finalists for the Kiwibank 2025 New Zealander of the Year Awards announced
FSC’s FAP round table breakfast with the FMA
Several of our team attended the Financial Services Council’s FAP round table breakfast with the Financial Markets Authority last month.
Quality Product Research are sponsors of the Financial Services Council’s (FSC's) FAP round table breakfast with the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) last month. Several of our team were there, including Aneel Ravji, AdviceTech Lead, Kelly Pulham, National Partnerships Lead, and Russell Hutchinson, Research Director.
The FMA covered how the new regime is working, approaches to enforcement and other initiatives. Attendees were taken through the background and given an overview of the Conduct of Financial Institutions (CoFI) regime. Other topics included observations on remediations, fair conduct programmes and an overview of the CoFI intermediated distribution guide. Russell Hutchinson facilitated a lively Q&A session.
Here's a few snaps from the day. We highly recommend you attend the FSC round tables if you get the chance, they always make for an interesting and engaging start to the day.
Pictured, from the Financial Markets Authority, from left to right: Michael Hewes, Director, Deposit Taking, Insurance and Advice; Anna Jared, Technical Specialist – Deposit Taking, Insurance & Advice; Kyla Bottriell, Senior Adviser, External Relations; and Romil Ghelani, Head of Financial Advice
Russell Hutchinson, Director at Quality Product Research Ltd, facilitates a Q&A session.
The FSC has released its latest Money & You research
The Financial Services Council (FSC) has released their latest research report, Money & You: Managing Risk Through Challenging Times, which explores the attitudes of New Zealanders towards risk management. Some of the key findings are below.
Only 41% of respondents had life insurance, 39% had health/medical insurance, 23% had trauma/critical illness insurance, 18% had total and permanent disability insurance.
For the 12 months to 30 September 2024, FSC industry data showed 1,521,740 health insurance policies and 4,145,287 life insurance products (one person may have more than one policy e.g. life insurance, income protection insurance and total and permanent disability insurance policies).
The majority (66%) who have life and health insurance consider it value for money.
The biggest drivers of taking out life and health insurance policies are peace of mind and worry about financial consequences.
The most common reason given for not having life and health insurance was that insurance is too expensive (74%), followed by being healthy and not seeing the need for it (14%), and not trusting insurance companies (13%).
Cost of living meaning people can no longer afford insurance was the top reason given for no longer having insurance across life, trauma or critical illness, income protection, total and permanent disability and health/medical.
For those without insurance, 64% would consider taking out an insurance policy if they had more money, 25% would take out an insurance policy if their health started declining and 18% would take out an insurance policy if they started a family. There is a gap in understanding of how insurance works, with only 3% of those who would consider taking out an insurance policy if their health started declining knew that they might not be able to get cover for certain health issues or they might face higher premiums because of them.
The majority of health (61%) and life (77%) insurance policies are paid by individuals, with the remainder being partially or fully subsidised by employers.
When it comes to health/medical insurance or life insurance being provided by employers, 54% really want this and a further 35% might possibly want this.
45% of respondents have a poor understanding of the relationship between risk and return.
2,002 online survey responses were collected during March 2024 and were representative of the NZ consumer population in terms of age, gender and income.
It is worth noting that as a low engagement product, life and health insurance is something that respondents find hard to recall accurately. That leads to interesting results - this survey contains a probable over-estimate of the number of people who own health insurance, and a probable under-estimate of the number of people who hold life insurance. But the recalled level of cover is, in itself, interesting. For example, if you think you do not have life, trauma, or income insurance, but in fact you do, you or your estate may fail to claim when you may be eligible to do so.
Readers interested in contrasting these survey results with data on the eligible population should contact us.
More news:
Partners Life has decided to stop using its Customer Outcome Matrix
Southern Cross Health Insurance appoints Grant McIvor as chief digital officer
MAS looking for a Head of Technology Strategy and Architecture
Fidelity Life open applications for training programmes
Fidelity Life has opened applications for Advice Masters, Professional Pathways, Practice Manager Masterclass and Career Connect.
Fidelity Life has opened applications for Advice Masters, Professional Pathways, Practice Manager Masterclass and Career Connect.
Applications are open for Advice Masters, Fidelity Life's intensive training and personalised professional development programme designed for experienced business owners in the financial services industry. The programme encompasses a wide range of topics: M&A; capital raising/funding strategies; high performance for business leaders; leading high performing teams; business strategy design and execution; governance; board craft; director skills and sustainability; business efficiency; technology and AI. The 30 available spots are by invitation only – interested people can talk to their business manager or apply here.
Professional Pathways is Fidelity Life's customisable extended training and development programme designed for motivated advisers, who are dedicated to growth and achieving their business goals. Over a 9-month period the programme will take participants through key topics – developing their business; advice and planning; business sales and growth; business efficiency. The programme consists of skills based workshops, self-paced learning through courses, resources and quizzes, online webinars and interactive online workshops.
Practice Manager Masterclass are targeted at admin staff and will help to improve workflow and productivity.
Career Connect is Fidelity Life's comprehensive education and skills programme designed to develop the next generation of financial advisers. Career Connect equips participants with relevant qualifications, practical skills and knowledge, and industry connections. The 2025 intake will commence in May and will run for 6 months. Applicants will be invited for an interview and the fee for the programme is approximately $1650.
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Financial Advice NZ webinar 'Shaping the future of financial advice' 11 December
Unimed offer customers My Food Bag discounts
Russell Hutchinson reviews a game to teach financial literacy
Sam Friggens appointed general manager climate transition at ASB
Health NZ proposing to lay off 1500 staff in restructure proposal
Southern Cross creates new role to oversee hospital network
Southern Cross Healthcare has announced Roger Cronin as the new chief operating officer responsible for the organisation’s 10 wholly owned hospitals.
Southern Cross Healthcare has announced Roger Cronin as the new chief operating officer responsible for the organisation’s 10 wholly owned hospitals. The new role’s focus is on overseeing the operational performance of the hospitals and acting as a strategic link between the hospitals and the national support office.
Cronin was recently CEO of PresMed Australia, a private healthcare provider specialising in surgical day-stay procedures for ophthalmology and ENT patients. Cronin has held a variety of leadership roles in major public hospitals and has worked with the New South Wales Ministry of Health. Cronin will commence his new role in late November.
More news:
Westpac campaign highlights dangers of impulse buying and debt accumulation
mySolutions webinar 'Panel Discussion' 4 December
The IFSO Scheme welcomes changes introduced by the Contracts of Insurance Act 2024
Government announces funding for 50 new senior doctors, plus nurses and other health professionals
The RBNZ has cut the Official Cash Rate, taking it from 4.75% to 4.25%
IOSCO consultation proposes responses to risks posed by ‘finfluencers’
The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) has proposed a raft of ‘good practice’ measures regulators can use to mitigate risks posed by finfluencers.
Globally, there has been a trend of people turning to social media for advice on making investment decisions. While getting people interested in investing and increasing financial literacy is to be commended, issues arise when finfluencers spread misleading or biased information, promote unsuitable or high-risk products and/or fail to adequately disclose any conflicts of interest.
IOSCO’s Finfluencers consultation report makes a series of recommendations including:
· Updating legal regimes to explicitly police finfluence
· Requiring the use of disclaimers and disclosures to help consumers understand the content they are consuming
· Better-monitor the finfluencer community (e.g. by using data analytics of social media activities) and enforce breaches
· Conducting joint investigations and co-ordinating enforcement actions in the case of cross-border issues
More news:
Fidelity Life announce product enhancements and digital, service, and retention initiatives
At Fidelity Life’s Engage 2024 conference, Fidelity Life announced a range of product enhancements, digital, service and retention initiatives and other news.
Trauma and Life covers: The entry eligibility for the Inbuilt Child’s Trauma benefit has been reduced from two years to three months, allowing more families to receive early protection. A new, separate benefit specifically for newborns facing trauma has also been introduced. Fidelity Life will also trail a premium discount for defined exclusions on trauma covers in the coming months.
Condition Definitions: Refinements have been made for clarity, and Terminal Illness has been introduced as a defined condition across the trauma range, including Child's Trauma.
Bereavement and Child’s Funeral Benefits: The Bereavement Benefit has been increased from $15,000 to $25,000, and the Child’s Funeral Benefit has been increased from $3,500 to $15,000 for children aged 10 to 20.
Grief Counselling Benefit: A new benefit offering an additional $2,500 to the sum insured.
Financial Planning Benefit: Easier access by removing thresholds and extending the claim period.
New Specific Injury Cover: A low-cost solution that pays a lump sum for any of 30 defined injuries.
Live Chat: Quick and easy access to New Business and Underwriting teams via Adviser Centre.
New-Look E-App: A modern and intuitive user experience launching in March 2025. The E-App’s latest upgrade goes live later this month, with the new ‘share’ feature enabling advisers to send a link to their customers, allowing customers to complete all or part of the application on their own.
Dedicated Adviser Service Team: A team committed to servicing all adviser needs.
Enhanced Retention Tools: Including renewal reminders and automated SMS reminders for customers. There will be additional roles created too.
Expanding adviser support roles: Fidelity Life are creating new roles, including a National Partnership Manager for mid-sized and corporate firms, as well as an Auckland Business Manager and a Desk-Based Business Manager, to provide more tailored support and drive closer engagement.
Adviser Edge Programme: New additions to the programme include an invitation-only overseas study tour and new practice manager masterclasses for admin staff.
Grow Together programme: Coming in early 2025, the invitation-only Grow Together programme will provide dedicated, prioritised support across key areas including new business, underwriting, and retention. Advisers in the programme can expect to benefit from dedicated support resources, exclusive benefits, and access to a wide range of support tools and professional development opportunities.
Adviser Council: Fidelity Life are inviting advisers to express their interest in joining their Adviser council, which meets quarterly with Fidelity Life’s leadership team to discuss industry updates, share market trends, and provides objective feedback on their initiatives.
Adviser relationship survey: To better understand market perceptions and Fidelity Life are launching a bi-annual Adviser relationship survey to provide key insights into advisers' experiences and expectations and where Fidelity Life need to improve.
Group Solutions enhancements: From early 2025, Fidelity Life will be launching a quarterly industry insight, Group IQ; holding an annual onsite Group HQ conference for the top 30 group advisers; and launching a new group solution designed for small businesses, providing enhanced tools and technology for a smoother experience and better outcomes.
Bronwyn Kirwan, Fidelity Life's Chief Commercial Officer, said
"We are thrilled to introduce these new product enhancements and initiatives. They are a testament to our ongoing commitment to providing our advisers and customers with the best possible support and value.
These enhancements deliver more value, greater accessibility, and increased choice."
More info:
Chubb Life change underwriting process for Mortgage Repayment Cover
Partners Life are holding Summer Roadshows in November & December
AIA has launched new Specified Accidental Injury Cover product
AIA survey advisers around the need for terminal illness cover
AIA Vitality members can get up to 40% off Garmin and New Balance
The FSC has recorded a small deficit of almost $46,000 before tax over the 12 months to June 30
ICNZ has welcomed the passage of the Contracts of Insurance Bill
Financial Advice NZ's national adviser conference is on 1 - 3 April 2025
mySolutions webinar 'Why Chubb?' 27 November
Lyka Burr & Vincent Zhang join TAP's compliance and governance team
Unimed offer psychologist led introductory sleep workshops
Ashleigh Buchanan from Southern Cross Health Insurance named Emerging Leader of the Year
Southern Cross covers cochlear implants
Southern Cross Health Insurance (SCHI) has become the first New Zealand insurer to cover cochlear implant surgery for eligible adult members.
Southern Cross Health Insurance (SCHI) has become the first New Zealand insurer to cover cochlear implant surgery for eligible adult members. SCHI will cover one internal cochlear implant (excluding the external sound processor) for members who meet specific criteria which include:
· being at least 18 years old
· having severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss in one ear
· having moderate or worse hearing loss in the other ear
· having a hearing aid fitted for the ear scheduled for the implant
Those an audiologist deems likely to develop this level of hearing loss within 24 months may also qualify.
More news:
Fidelity Life release average turnaround times for September 2024
Fidelity Life share key takeaways from customer engagement forum
Westpac and nib called out for poor customer satisfaction scores at the Consumer NZ Yeah, Nah awards
NZFSG launch ‘MyInduction’ Programme
mySolutions webinar 'Premium structures' 30 October
The Co-operative Bank is a finalist in the 2024 LearnX Awards
nib launches nib meno care
nib NZ has launched a new health management initiative, nib meno care, aimed at supporting women through the stages of perimenopause and menopause.
nib NZ has launched a new health management initiative, nib meno care, aimed at supporting women through the stages of perimenopause and menopause. The programme has been developed in collaboration with Dr Linda Dear, a specialist in menopause care.
nib members will be able to access expert advice on managing menopause symptoms – covering topics from lifestyle adjustments, to natural remedies and available medical treatments.
A 2023 survey Dear conducted found 64% of NZ women were unaware their symptoms, such as sleep disturbances and weight gain, were linked to menopause.
nib’s chief medical officer, Dr Rob McGrath, said
“Menopause is a personal journey, and no two women experience it the same way. That’s why we wanted to develop a tool to help women manage their symptoms on their own terms by making expert support easy to access and apply.”
More news:
ANZIIF welcomes Scott Hawkins as board member
The Adviser Platform rebrand and launch new website
NZFSG webinar 'Under the hoodie: Revealing the hackers' secrets' 22 October
FSC end of year celebrations dates announced: Auckland 26 Nov, Wellington 27 Nov
ACC’s latest annual report details an increase in claims and financial challenges