Life Insurance pays a lump sum (or a fixed monthly amount) if you die as a result of either accident or illness, or upon diagnosis of terminal illness likely to result in death within 12 months. Having Life Cover in place will ensure that your debt and funeral costs are covered so that your family or your business are able to carry-on after your death. Life Insurance helps you minimise the financial impact of death or terminal illness for you and your family, and gives you peace of mind that you can provide security for a wide range of financial commitments.

Types of life insurance:

Lump Sum – can be used to settle debts, pay for final expenses, create an investment fund to generate ongoing income, enable business ownership to be restructured, or provide an inheritance or donation, amongst other things.

Monthly Payment – Designed to minimise impact on the lifestyle of your family after your death through a monthly payment.

Can I fix my life insurance premiums ?

Yes you can.

There are several options available, with different premium structures including:

Yearly Stepped – Your premium are based on your current age and sum insured. They start out relatively low, but will increase each year with age.

Level Term – Premiums are fixed for the life of the policy. At the start they will be more expensive compared to yearly stepped. But in the end you may be better off as yearly stepped premiums keep increasing.

Trauma Cover provides a lump sum payment should you suffer one of the covered conditions. The covered conditions are by nature serious and potentially life threatening and as a result, can have a significant financial impact. Trauma Cover is designed to help alleviate this financial impact. The lump sum payment can help reduce debt, purchase specialized equipment, pay for home modifications, provide additional care, create an investment fund to generate ongoing income, or enable business ownership to be restructured, among other things. The purpose of the funds is entirely yours to decide.To validate your claim you need to survive 14 days after being diagnosed with a covered condition such as cancer heart attack or stroke.

Can I fix my Trauma & Critical Illness premiums ?

Yes you can.

There are several options available, with different premium structures including:

Yearly Stepped - Your premium are based on your current age and sum insured. They start out relatively low, but will increase each year with age.

Level Term - Premiums are fixed for the life of the policy. At the start they will be more expensive compared to yearly stepped. But in the end you may be better off as yearly stepped premiums keep increasing.

Health insurance takes care of the big things like surgical and non-surgical treatment in a private hospital. It also covers consultation with specialists, medications, dressings, rehabilitation and the cost of staying in a private hospital. It may also include the following:

1. Surgical and Non-Surgical Benefits
2. Cancer Care
3. Overseas Treatment
4. Health Support:

• Ambulance transfers
• Home nursing care benefit
• Physiotherapy
• Hospice care benefit
• ACC top up
• Funeral cover

Additional Options:

Specialist Option:

Provides funds for specialist consultations and diagnostic tests like XRAY, ultrasound or cardiovascular examination.

Dental and Optical Treatment:

Cover for dental examinations and orthodontic treatments. This plan also covers optometrist and optician consultations, prescription glasses, audiometric tests, acupuncture, chiropractic, osteopathy, podiatry treatments, and speech therapy.

GP Options:

Provides cover for day to day healthcare costs including GP consultations, GP minor surgeries, pharmaceutical prescriptions, physiotherapy and nurse visits.

Pro-Active Health:

Provides cover for health screening tests, allergy testing and vaccinations, dietician or nutritionist consultations and even gym membership.

Best Doctors:

A worldwide network of doctors offering you and your immediate family access to leading specialists from New Zealand and around the world.

Medical Treatment Facts

• Currently in New Zealand there is a shortage of senior doctors, a problem that is predicted to result in a shortfall of 670 full-time equivalent senior doctors by 2021.
• Significant numbers of senior specialist doctors reaching retirement age and lifestyle factors are contributing to the problem
• Medical emigration to fill demand for specialist doctors internationally is also putting pressure on New Zealand’s supply of specialist doctors in the future.

Why Health Insurance?

• More choice – you choose how you receive treatment, and with your GP or specialist, you decide when and where.
• Less waiting – while you wait for treatment your health could be deteriorating . If you’re in pain, waiting can be difficult and emotionally draining.
• Less worry – people often worry when they are waiting for treatment and so do the people who love and support them. You won’t have to worry about having the money to pay for the best treatment.
• Protects your income - bad health could result in time off work and lost income for you and/or your dependent family members. If you’re paying for treatment yourself, that’s an additional financial burden
• Access to leading edge treatments - Health practices and treatments are advancing rapidly. Private Health-Insurance can gain you access to treatments that you may not otherwise be able to afford

Excess:

There are various excess options to choose from to suit your individual requirements without sacrificing essential benefits

Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) provides financial peace of mind by providing a lump sum payment should you become totally and permanently disabled and unable to work as a result of accident or illness.

If you are so incapacitated that:

a. cannot do your own or another job to which your skills may be suited; or

b. cannot perform at least two activities of daily living without the physical assistance of someone else such as:

• Bathing and showering
• Dressing and undressing
• Eating and drinking
• Using a toilet
• Moving from place to place by walking, in a wheelchair, or with a walking aid

Total and Permanent Disability Insurance has two options depending on your situation. If you are so incapacitated that:

1. Own Occupation – if it is unlikely you will ever be able to work in your own specific occupation
2. Any Occupation – if it is unlikely that you will ever be able to return to work in your own or any other occupation or gainful employment for which you are reasonably suited by education, training or experience
   

Income protection can provide you with a regular monthly payment if you are unable to work due to sickness or injury.

Why Income Protection?

After your health, your ability to earn an income is one of your most valuable assets. If your health were to suffer a setback, your finances and lifestyle shouldn’t have to.

Types of Insurance

Agreed Value: This type of cover provides an agreed monthly benefit based on a proportion of your income (before tax) disclosed at time of application. This means that you don’t need to supply proof of pre-disability income at claim time in order to receive a benefit

Indemnity: This type of cover pays monthly benefit based on a proportion of your pre-disability income (before tax) at claim time. The benefit is paid up to a specified selected at the time of application. This means that you need to supply proof of pre-disability income when you lodge a claim.

Loss of Earnings: This type of cover offers you the flexibility to chose either an Agreed Value or Indemnity Benefit. At claim time, you have the option to receive an Agreed Value Benefit or you can elect to provide evidence of your pre-disability income in order to receive a potentially higher benefit.

What should I know?

Offsets

Depending on what type of income protection policy you have, some offsets may be applied. Please refer to your policy wordings for further informations.

Waiting periods

The length of time between you becoming disabled and the time when you are eligible to receive a claim payment can vary to suit your personal requirements.Longer waiting periods can decrease your monthly premiums. We can offer waiting periods from 4-104 weeks.

Benefit Payment Periods

You can select the amount of time you receive payments. Selecting a shorter benefit payment period can decrease your premiums. We can offer from 1- 5 year payment periods with options for your policy to end at the ages 65 or 70 years old.

Mortgage protection cover can provide you with a regular monthly mortgage payment if you are unable to work due to sickness or injury.

Why Mortgage Protection?

For many people their house is their most valuable asset. If you are unable to work due to an illness or injury, Mortgage Protection Cover can provide you with regular monthly payments so you won’t be worried about your mortgage or rent payments when you would be better off focused on regaining your Independence.

Cover Options:

• You can choose to cover up to 115% of your contractual mortgage repayments on your residential property.
• Up to a maximum of 45% of your gross income.

Offsets

No offsets apply. Mortgage protection does not have ACC offset.

Waiting periods

The length of time between you becoming disabled and the time when you are eligible to receive a claim payment can vary to suit your personal requirements. Longer waiting periods can decrease your monthly premiums. We can offer waiting periods from 4- 104 weeks. 

Benefit Payment Periods

You can select the amount of time you receive payments. Selecting a shorter benefit payments period can decrease your premiums. We can offer from 1 - 5 year payment periods with options for your policy to end at ages 65 or 70 years old.

Additional Options

Redundancy Cover

If you are made redundant, you’ll be covered with monthly payments for up to six months.

Retirement Protection (KiwiSaver)

Under this benefit you can keep contributing to your KiwiSaver while you’re on a Total Disability claim, helping you to continue receiving the member tax credit. This contribution is an addition to your monthly benefit.

Mental Health Limitation

This option will reduce your premiums and you will receive payments for only two years throughout the life of your policy should you make a claim for mental health.

Dependent Care Benefit

This option will provide you with a proportion of a monthly benefit should you need to give up work to provide full-time care for a relative who can no longer take care of themselves because of total disability.

Claim Indexation

Your sum insured will increase every year according to the CPI, (New Zealand Consumer Price Index). This helps your sum assured stay in line with inflation.

Farmers have a unique work environment and generally work and live in the same place with their family experiencing long working hours and often unpredictable conditions. Rural Continuity Insurance can provide a monthly payment to safeguard the future of your farm or sharemilking business should you become disabled as a result of an accident or ill health. This applies if you are unable to continue farming for more than 10 hours a week, providing you are not working in any other business.

Offsets

No offsets applied. Rural continuity cover does not have ACC offset.

Waiting periods

The length of time between you becoming disabled and the time when you are eligible to receive a claim payment can vary to suit your personal requirements. Longer waiting periods can decrease your monthly premiums. We can offer waiting periods from 4 – 13 weeks .

Benefit Payment Periods

You can select the amount of time you receive payments. Selecting a shorter benefit payments period can decrease your premiums. We can offer from 6 – 24 month payment periods to suit your circumstances.

Additional Options

Partial Disablement Benefit

Provides additional income if owing to a continuation of the disability, you are working less than 20 hours per week and have been totally disabled for a period of at least two weeks.

Peak Season Benefit

If you are on claim during the pre-nominated three-month peak season period, you receive an additional 25% of the monthly benefit.

Business Income Support

Should you suffer a serious accident or critical illness and are unable to work long term, you will need cover additional to the Rural Continuity Benefit. This cover can provide additional cover benefits and financial support to age 65.

Most businesses protect their physical assets such as plant and equipment but may not protect human assets that are key to keeping their business running profitably. Business Continuity Insurance helps your business by providing monthly payments and support should a key person become disabled or unable to work due to ill-health.

Offsets

No offsets applied. Business Continuity Cover does not have ACC offset.

Waiting periods

The length of time between you becoming disabled and the time when you are eligible to receive a claim payment can vary to suit your personal requirements. Longer waiting periods can decrease your monthly premiums. We can offer waiting periods from 4 – 13 weeks .

Benefit Payment Periods

You can select the amount of time you receive payments. Selecting a shorter benefit payments period can decrease your premiums. We can offer from 6 – 24 month payment periods to suit your circumstances .

Additional Options

Partial Disablement Benefit

Provides additional income if owing to a continuation of the disability, you are working less than 20 hours per week and have been totally disabled for a period of at least two weeks.

Peak Season Benefit

If you are on claim, during the pre-nominated three-month peak season period, you receive an additional 25% of the monthly benefit.

Business Income Support

Should you suffer a serious accident or critical illness and are unable to work long term, you will need cover additional to the Business Continuity Benefit. This cover can provide additional cover benefits and financial support to age 65.

Almost everybody in New Zealand has to remain in work until retirement so that they can afford to meet their mortgage repayments, general living as well as putting food on the table. However, even if you’ve landed your dream job with a high salary and excellent progression opportunities, you never know what the future might have in store. If you want to secure peace of mind about your future finances, regardless of what happens at work, then you could protect yourself by applying for Redundancy Insurance.

Why Should I Insure Myself for Redundancy?

There was a time when people, assuming they worked hard, could expect to remain working with the same company until they reached retirement age, but unfortunately this sort of job security has diminished. From entry-level staff to senior executives, anyone can be made redundant at any time making Redundancy Cover increasingly crucial.

Consider This

The current WINZ unemployment benefit is just over $200 per/ week for a single person 25 years and over. Would this be enough to cover your bills, mortgage, food and allow for any extra unexpected costs?

It may take months to find a job that offers the same remuneration package and benefits as you had in your previous employment. Do you want to be in the position, where you have to accept a job offer that really doesn’t suit you because you need the money?

Four out of ten New Zealander’s reported that they were unable to pay their bill for more than one month after losing their salary due to redundancy.

Only 8% of people can cover all of their expenses for six months after being made redundant.

How does Redundancy Cover Work?

Different providers offer varying benefits as part of their Redundancy Insurance Cover, but you will usually start receiving payments 30 days after the official date of your redundancy.

A typical policy will include the following:

• Redundancy payments for six months following the loss of your job.
• Up to 45% of your previous income or 100% of your monthly mortgage payments, whichever works out to be more beneficial to you
• Minimum requirement of six months after your redundancy cover is issued to be eligible to make a claim.

On most policies, you can claim twice over you policy life time.

• You may not be able to purchase redundancy cover if rumours that, the company you work for is planning to downsize, have been made public.
• More often than not, you are able to claim even if your employer gives you a redundancy package.
• You will need to provide proof of current income to receive cover.