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.
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
Our Product Rating Map
A quick overview of the Quotemonster Product Rating Map and how it can help you resolve error messages.
Quotemonster, Researchmonster and Advicemonster pricing schedules
Curious about what the different plans we offer include? Here’s a quick summary of the differences in products and the pricing schedules for Quotemonster, Researchmonster and Advicemonster.
What’s new with Advicemonster?
Curious to see the latest features on Advicemonster? Want to spend more time in front of your clients and less time on admin? Watch as Aneel Ravji takes you through how to use the latest features and enhancements on Advicemonster. Topics covered include sending fact find links to your clients to complete prior to meeting them; adding notes into the FactFinder needs analysis process; our swish new feature that allows you to narrate notes on SOA’s rather than having to manually type it in; how you can choose to utilise our AI features to reduce the time you spend entering in data; how you can add multiple reports; how to preview your SOA report. Plus preview our Business SOA.
nib updates health insurance cover and benefits
nib New Zealand has updated the cover and benefits of its health insurance products.
The product refresh includes higher benefit limits and broader coverage for some products and a minor reduction in some benefit terms and updated exclusions.
nib New Zealand has updated the cover and benefits of its health insurance products.
The product refresh includes higher benefit limits and broader coverage for some products and a minor reduction in some benefit terms and updated exclusions. For example, members with ‘Hospital Cover’ will have an increase in Surgical Benefit from $150,000 to $600,000 per year; they will also have a reduction in cover on their Ambulance Transfer Benefit – with the ambulance transfer must be to the closest private hospital.
Rob Hennin, nib CEO, said
“The product refresh will also provide some operational efficiencies and a better overall experience for our members. Policies are simpler and easier to understand, and we have an updated member portal to create a better online experience”.
Members will face no impact on premiums in the current year due to these changes.The changes will be gradually implemented over the 12 months starting February 1.
More details on the changes can be found here.
More daily news:
Andrew Bayly says CoFI will undergo a targeted review
The FSC and Financial Advice New Zealand have welcomed the Government’s announcement to simplify CoFI regulations
mySolutions workshops 'Can we simplify the process?' will run across February
mySolutions women in business event 'Become unstoppable' 19 March
New Zealand Financial Services Group appoints Baden Martin as new chief executive
Gareth Allen takes on acting General Manager Adviser Engagement role at Partners Life
What do you want us to write about?
We’d love to find out what you’d like to read more of this year on the blog. Local industry news? Global insurance news? Health news? Insurtech?
We’d love to find out what you’d like to read more of this year on the blog. Local industry news? Global insurance news? Health news? Insurtech? Let us know here.
Our top read stories since we switched to the new look Chatswood website were Swiss Re’s take on sustainability in life and health insurance, Fidelity Life’s product enhancements and Accuro and Unimed's announcement of their proposal to combine.
nib announce product refresh
nib have announced changes to most of their legacy and on-sale retail and group health products.
nib have announced changes to most of their legacy and on-sale retail and group health products. One of the reasons for the move was to better align the benefits of their legacy and on-sale products, to make it easier and quicker to process claims, and in doing so, reduce costs and help contain premium increases. Changes to client’s cover will take place on their next policy anniversary, commencing from 1 February 2024 and then over the following 12 months.
Changes include:
· aligning many of the benefit terms of the retail and group health cover benefits to those of Ultimate Health
· aligning benefit maximums of the legacy products to those of the comparable on-sale product
· Group cover benefit terms will also be refreshed
· small enhancements to Ultimate Health Max and Ultimate Health benefit terms.
Adviser FAQ’s are here and more details about the changes are included in the supporting collateral available on nib’s adviser portal, in the Public Documents tab under Product Refresh Documents.
More daily news:
Public health officials urge kiwis to get Covid-19 boosters as Covid-19 numbers increase
New assessment tool could transform the diagnosis of dementia in Māori kaumātua
2023 at Quality Product Research Limited
As always, we’ve had the chance to investigate some topical themes in our quarterly reports, highlights this year being: a discussion on using AI in financial advice, particularly ChatGPT and its challenges, limitations and factual errors; an analysis identifying how many financial advisers are connected to each financial advice provider and another on how many financial advice providers and financial advisers there are; just how much an adviser tech stack can cost; and exploration of causes for lapses in the NZ insurance market.
We haven’t been resting on our laurels here, with loads of product enhancements delivered this year including our shiny new website and branding. Quotemonster have made a series of upgrades including completing our two-factor authentication (2FA) process, adding a Remote Assistance function, improved the Advicemonster Quote Wizard, added a beta Upload Insurance Quote function that will automatically input in your Quotemonster Client and Benefit Details, established the Quotemonster Advisory Board, held a Nationwide Quotemonster roadshow across 15 towns (and online too!) with over 1100 people registering to attend (see some pics below), made legacy research live on Quotemonster and added business insurance to Advicemonster. Phew!
We’ve welcomed Kim Oliver and Aneel Ravji to the QPR team. Kim is our new Research and Customer Service superstar and helps keep the research database up to date and supports advisers with their queries. Aneel is our AdviceTech lead and his role is assisting advisers with their advice process – if you have any questions about what Advice Monster can do for you and your business, contact Aneel today.
We’ve loved exploring wider industry news on the blog, with some favourites this year being AI’s disruptive influence on the global economy; opportunities for advisers and how Australia’s Federal Government is seeking feedback on the use of genetic test results by insurers.
We want to say a huge thank you from the Chatswood and QPR teams. We have thoroughly enjoyed working with you over the past year and look forward to another exciting year in 2024. A reminder that our office will be closed from the 22 December 2023 – 8 January 2024.
We hope you all have a wonderful break, and we look forward to working with you in 2023.
Best wishes, from all the team at Chatswood and Quality Product Research.
Fidelity Life launch a range of product enhancements
Fidelity Life launch six product enhancements to the market in response to adviser feedback.
Fidelity Life launch six product enhancements to the market in response to adviser feedback.
· Monthly mortgage repayment - cover benefit percentages have increased from 110% to 115% of mortgage repayments and 40% to 45% of income.
· Special events and Future insurability – new triggers have been added to Special events as reasons for optional cover increases such as buying investment property, land, holiday home, co-signing a child’s mortgage or supporting a child with fulltime tertiary study. In addition, some exclusions for Special events and Future insurability (i.e., for customers with loadings or special terms) have been removed to give a wider range of customers access to these benefits.
· Key person new to business and Key person for farmers - monthly cover limits have increased from $4,000 to $6,500 for Key person new to business, and from $5,000 to $9,000 for Key person for farmers covers.
· Repatriation benefit – now available on applicable life covers, the newly added benefit is on top of the life cover sum insured and is accessible to repatriate a body home from or to New Zealand.
· Stand-down period commencement - the stand-down period for specified trauma conditions have been adjusted for new covers to start on the date of a completed application submission, not on underwriting.
· Increased sum insured limits for children – new limits for children now stand at $250,000 for both Life cover and Trauma cover - standalone.
More daily news:
AIA extend One Month’s Premium Free offer to 30 November 2023
Apple Watch Benefit is back in the AIA Vitality app as an option for AIA Vitality members to earn
From 9 November 2023, AIA have made some adjustments to loadings for BMI