Guides
Longer reads about kinds of cover and how this market works. Every figure carries a source and the date we read it, and where we could not source something we say so instead of writing it from memory.
How much life cover do you need in New Zealand?
How much life insurance do you need in NZ? Add debts, income to replace and one-off costs, minus what you have. The rule of thumb, worked line by line.
Read it →Income protection vs mortgage protection in New Zealand
Is mortgage protection the same as income protection? No: income protection pays you part of your income; mortgage protection covers only the home loan.
Read it →Term life vs whole of life cover in New Zealand
What term life and whole of life cover mean, what is actually sold in New Zealand today, and why the stepped-versus-level premium question matters more here than the term-versus-whole one.
Read it →ACC and income protection: where ACC stops
What ACC covers and does not cover in New Zealand, what weekly compensation pays and when it starts, and how that interacts with income protection insurance. Sourced to acc.co.nz.
Read it →How to check a financial adviser is licensed in New Zealand
Step by step: how to look up a financial adviser or advice provider on the Financial Service Providers Register, what to ask them, and which dispute resolution schemes exist. Sourced to the FSPR.
Read it →Funeral insurance vs life insurance in New Zealand
Funeral insurance is small, simple life cover sized to a funeral. Life insurance is sized to debts and income. How they differ in NZ, and what to check.
Read it →Life insurance over 60 in New Zealand: what changes with age
Can you get life insurance over 60 in NZ? Usually yes, but premiums rise with age, entry and expiry ages apply, and older cover is worth keeping.
Read it →Stepped vs level premiums: how life insurance prices change over time
Stepped premiums start lower and rise with age; level premiums start higher and hold for a set period. How each works in NZ, what ends a level period, and what to ask.
Read it →Total and permanent disability (TPD) insurance in New Zealand
TPD insurance pays a lump sum if illness or injury means you can never work again. Own vs any occupation, standalone vs attached to life cover, and how it fits with ACC.
Read it →What to do if a life or health insurance claim is declined in NZ
If an NZ insurer declines your life, trauma or income protection claim: get the reasons in writing, use its complaints process, then go to a free dispute scheme.
Read it →