Life Insurance
Most people with a family or debt need some form of life insurance just in case the unthinkable happens. Life insurance is essential for protecting your family and their financial stability. At a minimum, life insurance should cover your debts, funeral expenses, full repayment of your mortgage (including any early repayment fee), and your family’s immediate living costs.
Think about all of the ways that you contribute to your family. When assessing your life insurance needs, consider the amount required to replace lost income, or pay for childcare. Consider how much support your family will need before they can become financially independent. Alas, life insurance is not just about financial dependency, it is about ensuring the burden of your loss is lessened on your family.
No two life insurance policies (issued by different providers) are the same. What is common amongst all providers is that Life Cover is designed to pay a tax-free lump sum if you die prematurely. With so many providers it can be difficult to choose the right provider and the right plan for you. Each provider offers their own unique benefits. So much so, that in one case, we even learnt that a provider will pay five times the sum insured if a person dies resulting from decapitation.
Deciphering each provider and their plan is what Wright Financial does best. For us, it’s about our clients and having them make an informed decision. With over 30 years combined industry experience, our advisers will explain in simple terms the definitions of your policy wordings and just what this definition means for you and your personal situation.
To help get you started understanding your life cover insurance policy options, let’s discuss some common types of insurance and insurance options.
The most common type of life insurance is term life insurance:
Term life insurance: You or your chosen beneficiaries will be paid the sum assured if you’re diagnosed with a terminal illness or die within the period set out by the policy: The insurance last for the entirety of your life (provided that you keep paying the premiums). Whole-of-life policies are more expensive than term life policies because in addition to providing cover in the event of death term life insurance policies will have ‘other’ built-in benefits.
Then there are options!
When it comes to life insurance NZ there are many options and variations to the term Life Cover or Life Insurance, here are some examples:
Family Protection Benefit: The family protection benefit helps to minimise the impact on your family’s lifestyle after your death. By providing a monthly payment to your family rather than a lump sum, your family’s finances should remain relatively constant.
Funeral Cover:Funerals are already a very difficult time. They can also be expensive (on average $8,800 according to the Funeral Directors Association of New Zealand), especially if you haven’t saved or prepared for the cost. Funeral Cover will help pay for funeral expenses for you or your family relieving an unnecessary burden.
Accidental Death:Should your death be accidental; Accidental Death coverage provides your family with added financial support. Accidental death coverage can be a way to either increase your total death coverage or be a less expensive option to receive coverage only if death is due to an accident.
The following information is provided as a guide with which to compare quality Life Cover Insurance providers available in NZ. Here we identify similarities and subtle unique differences specific to each insurance provider, as per their brochures, giving you the opportunity to tell us why this provider is right for you.
Contact us today for free no obligation financial advice.
Compare Insurance Provider Benefits
The following information is provided as a guide with which to compare quality Total Permanent Disability Insurance providers available in NZ. Here we identify similarities and subtle unique differences specific to each insurance provider, as per their brochures, giving you the opportunity to tell us why this provider is right for you.
Fidelity Life
TERMINAL ILLNESS BENEFIT
If you are diagnosed as terminally ill and are likely to die within 12 months, you can apply for early payment of the sum insured.
PREMIUM HOLIDAY OPTIONS
Once in the lifetime of your policy you may choose to suspend both your coverage and your premiums. You won’t be required to provide any health documentation if you reinstate your coverage within one year. You may choose this option in cases of bankruptcy, redundancy, overseas travel, or tertiary studies.
CHILDREN'S FUNERAL BENEFIT (For children between the ages of 2 and 20 years old)
Receive immediate financial assistance (up to $3,500) to help cover the cost of a funeral if a life assured’s child dies between the age of 2 and 20 years. Each child is entitled to the amount regardless of the number of children you have covered.
CHILDS FUTURE INSURABILITY OPTION BENEFIT
Children from 0 up to and including 15 years old can be pre-approved to take insurance at a future date. When the child reaches a certain age or event (for example getting married), you have the option (one-time only) to take out life insurance cover, up to $200,000, for that child with standard premiums.
SPECIAL EVENTS BENEFIT
You can increase your life cover without further medical evidence on the occurrence of certain events. These events include reaching certain ages, getting married, civil union, having children, taking out a mortgage, or death of a spouse, partner or child or stopping work to take full time physical care of a dependent relative, or your shareholding in a business increasing, depending on the type of cover you select.
About Fidelity Life:
Fidelity Life (founded in 1973) with a vision of a New Zealand-owned and controlled company where advisers and staff could “have their say” and provide direct input into the company and its products.
Fidelity Life has an A.M. Best financial strength rating of A- (Excellent)*.
* Given by A.M. Best Inc., an approved insurance rating agency.
Partners Life
REWARDING PARTNERSHIP FOR LIFE BENEFIT
Be rewarded for your loyalty with the Rewarding Partnership for Life benefit. Receive discounts from your 2nd anniversary that increase each year by 1% until you hit the maximum 10% discount.
PREMIUM HOLIDAY OPTION
You may choose between 2 Premium Holiday options.
A) Choose up to 6 months of free Life cover to offset financial burden or
B) Suspend both your premiums and coverage for 12 months. You may resume your coverage at the end of 12 months without needing to be reassessed.
CHILDRENS FUNERAL BENEFIT (For children between the ages of 0 and 18 years old)
Receive immediate financial assistance of $3,500 for children 10 – 18 years of age and $2,000 for children under 10 (minus any other amounts payable) to help cover the cost of a funeral if a life assured’s child dies.
SPECIAL EVENTS BENEFIT
Allows clients to increase their Life Cover, by as much as $300,000* and their Life Income Cover, by up to $1000 per month*, without evidence of health, when a special event occurs, one which typically requires an increase in cover (for example, buying a home, getting married and having a baby).
About Partners Life:
Partners Life is a relatively new company to the Life Insurance market in New Zealand (approximately 6 years).
We understand how difficult and stressful it can be when it comes time to submit a claim and at Partners Life there are no surprises or shocks. We have a philosophy embedded into the fabric of the company that all genuine claims are paid as quickly and with as much empathy as possible.
Partners Life has an A.M. Best secure rating of B++ (Good)*.
* Given by A.M. Best Inc., an approved insurance rating agency.
Sovereign
TERMINAL ILLNESS BENEFIT
If you are diagnosed with a terminal illness and will die within 12 months of the diagnosis, you can elect to have some or all of your Life Cover paid in advance. The Life Cover Benefit is reduced by the amount of any Terminal Illness Benefit paid.
REPATRIATION BENEFIT
Should the life assured person die overseas, the repatriation benefit will reimburse the costs to return the body to New Zealand with 5% of the Life Cover sum (up to $20,000).
CHILDREN'S FUNERAL BENEFIT (For children between the ages of 3 and 10 years old)
Receive immediate financial assistance (up to $2000) to help cover the cost of a funeral if a life assured’s child dies between the ages of 3 and 10 years of an accidental injury within 90 days of the injury.
SPECIAL EVENTS BENEFIT
At the time of a special event, you can apply to add a limited amount of 'accelerated' Living Assurance cover, 'accelerated' Progressive Care or 'accelerated' Total Permanent Disablement cover to your Life Cover without needing to provide further medical information.
About Sovereign:
After taking care of New Zealanders for the past 25 years, Sovereign is turning insurance on its head by dedicating ourselves to helping you take charge of your health.
Sovereign has an A.M. Best financial strength rating of A+ (Superior)*.
* Given by A.M. Best Inc., an approved insurance rating agency.
AIA
TERMINAL ILLNESS BENEFIT
If you are unfortunately diagnosed with a terminal illness and death is likely within 12 months, you can have up to 100% of your life cover amount paid in advance, allowing you to spend quality time with your loved ones.
GUARANTEED PASS BACK OF ENHANCEMENTS
If we make improvements in the future that do not impact your premiums these improvements will apply to your policy from the date of the change.
SPECIAL EVENTS BENEFIT
If your financial circumstances change, for instance if your income significantly increases or you have more children, you can increase your coverage without providing added financial or medical information up to 5 times.
About AIA:
We’ve been helping New Zealanders since 1981. And as part of the AIA Group, one of the largest life insurance companies in the Asia Pacific region, our customers have the assurance that we’ll always be there for them when it counts, whatever life may bring.
AIA has a Standard & Poor’s (Australia) Pty Limited financial strength rating of AA- (Very Strong).
* Given by Standard & Poor’s (Australia) Pty Limited, one of the world’s leading providers of independent credit risk research across industries and benchmarks, asset classes and geographies.
Asteron Life
TERMINAL ILLNESS BENEFIT
Pays a lump sum if you are diagnosed with a terminal illness.
CHILDRENS TRAUMA COVER BENEFIT
You can cover each child or grandchild free of charge for up to $10,000 per child for trauma insurance as a part of your policy. There is also an option to increase the amount of Kids Cover up to $200,000 at a cost of $1 per every $10,000 per month.
SPECIAL EVENTS BENEFIT
When a major or special event in your life occurs, such as a mortgage, children, or an income increase, you may take out Trauma Recovery Cover or Modified Total and Permanent Disability Cover. These policies may be taken out without any medical underwriting and after the occasion.
About Asteron Life:
To Asteron Life, life insurance is all about getting the most out of today – knowing that if things go wrong, you’ve got plans in place. Asteron Life has been named New Zealand’s Best Life Insurance Company and Women’s Employer of the Year for 2015.
Asteron Life has a Standard & Poor’s financial strength rating of A+ (Strong).
* Given by Standard & Poor’s, one of the world’s leading providers of independent credit risk research across industries and benchmarks, asset classes and geographies.
OnePath
TERMINAL ILLNESS BENEFIT
An early payment of the Life Cover sum insured if you’re diagnosed as terminally ill.
REPATRIATION BENEFIT
Cover for transport costs up to $20,000 to bring your body back to New Zealand if you die while overseas.
SPECIAL EVENTS BENEFIT
You may increase your Life Cover NZ sum each second anniversary of your policy (up to 25% of the original sum or $200,000, whichever is greater) without being required to provide further medical documentation.
CHILDRENS FUNERAL BENEFIT
If your child (under the age of 18 years) dies, we’ll reimburse the funeral costs, up to $10,000.
About OnePath:
We’ve been paying claims for over 12 years and throughout that time, we have remained committed to our philosophy of doing what’s right by our customers every time. That means we look for ways to pay claims – not how to get out of paying claims.
OnePath has a Standard & Poor’s (Australia) Pty Limited financial strength rating of AA- (Very Strong).
* Given by Standard & Poor’s (Australia) Pty Limited, one of the world’s leading providers of independent credit risk research across industries and benchmarks, asset classes and geographies.
Contact us today for free no obligation financial advice.