Changes to Fidelity Life’s executive leadership team

Fidelity Life have announced some changes to their executive leadership team. They have split the current Chief Insurance Officer into two roles. Seema Bangera will take on the role of Chief Claims Officer and Dave Winspear, currently Head of Individual Life, will take on the role of Chief Operating Officer. Both will join the executive leadership team on 24 February. Niall McConville, Chief Insurance Officer is returning to Melbourne but will continue in a consultancy role.

Seema Bangera, Chief Claims Officer

Bangera joins from Asteron Life, where she has been Executive Manager of Claims and Customer Solutions. Bangera has 20 years experience in the industry, having held roles at Kiwibank, Westpac and HSBC.

David Winspear, Chief Operating Officer

Winspear’s responsibilities will include underwriting, new business and service to Fidelity Life’s customers and advisers and strategic partners.

Fidelity Life is currently recruiting for a new Head of Individual Life to fill the gap left by Winspear’s promotion.

Fidelity Life CEO Campbell Mitchell said

“Claims is fundamental to why we exist for our customers – it’s our purpose, to stand beside our customers when they need us most. There is a huge advantage of having a strong claims voice representing customers at the executive table to ensure customers and businesses get the support and experience they deserve during the most challenging times in their lives.”

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Legal and regulatory update for the life and health insurance sector

30 Jan 2025 - Parliament recommended that the Governor-General appoint John Allen as the new Chief Ombudsman of New Zealand.  https://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/news/statement-chief-ombudsman-peter-boshier

31 Jan 2025 - Andy Crow and Romil Ghelani from the FMA will speak at KAN conference 19 - 20 February in Auckland. https://kanevents.com/pages/speakers 

4 Feb 2025 - The FMA publish Samantha Barrass' speech to the Financial Services Council Outlook 2025. https://www.fma.govt.nz/library/speeches-and-presentations/financial-services-council-outlook-2025/

QPR Database upgrade - V16_4

Changes in V16.4

New Products Rated

New product rated under Mortgage Protection (MP/MPD) - SBS Insurance - Home Loan Repayment effective 1 February 2025

Reviews & Remediations (personal/business):

Trauma - Minor sub-item review for Inflation Adjusted Benefit (personal) and Life Cover Buyback (personal & business)

TPD - Minor sub-item review for Counselling & Support (personal & business)

IP/MP - Sub-item review for Reduction in Wait Period (personal)

Using Company Reports on Quotemonster

Find out how to get additional information for specific insurers, including key performance metrics, using Company Report.

Prohibited Incentives - by Simon Papa of Cygnus Law

Simon Papa at Cygnus Law writes about prohibited incentives on the Cygnus Law blog - well worth a read and to follow the website.

nib’s A Healthier Approach Launch events run across February

nib is running nib Ultimate Life & Living insurance and nib Balance launch events  from 10 February - 3 March. The events will explore nib’s latest offerings, unveil comprehensive new nib products and insurance products and will feature a keynote speech from renowned psychologist, author and media personality, Nigel Latta.

• Tauranga 10 February

• Hamilton 11 February

• Auckland 12 February

• Wellington 14 February

• Christchurch 17 February

• Timaru 18 February

• Dunedin 19 February

• Invercargill 20 February

• Queenstown 20 February

• Auckland Central 24 February

• North Shore 24 February

• Nelson 25 February

• Palmerston North 26 February

• Napier 27 February

• Whangarei 28 February

• New Plymouth 3 March

Quotemonster team members will be at the following venues:

• Auckland 12 February

• Auckland Central 24 February

• Auckland North Shore 24 February

• Hamilton 11 February

We look forward to seeing you there.

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Kiwimonster milestone 150 users!

Very quietly our free KiwiSaver comparison tool is being picked up by advisers - after only a few weeks we are at 150 users and rising. If you’re interested to find out more, visit www.kiwimonster.co.nz if you have a quotemonster login, that will work. If you don’t have a quotemonster login, follow the prompt to create one.

AM Best reaffirms Partners Life ratings

AM Best has reaffirmed the financial strength rating of A (Excellent) and the long-term issuer credit rating of “a” (Excellent) for Partners Life Limited, with the outlook for both remaining stable. AM Best categorises Partners Life’s balance sheet position as very strong.

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How much will you spend in retirement? What do you want to spend?

On Tuesday the Massey Financial Education Centre launched its latest retirement expenditure guidelines. I thoroughly recommend that you have a look. Presented expertly by Associate Professor Claire Matthews, who also heads the school, and Dr Pushpa Wood ONZM, the revised expenditure guidelines offer a solid, real-world, basis for thinking about how much money is required in retirement. Jane Wrightson, Retirement Commissioner, added context to the presenting team by refreshing us all on where we are at with New Zealand superannuation policy. Nick Hakes, Chief Executive Officer of Financial Advice New Zealand and host for the event, was a great advocate for professionalism in financial advice.

In attendance was a small crowd of financial advice, investment, and policy nerds. The group even included two past Ministers of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (Heather Roy, now Independent Chair of Financial Advice New Zealand, and Simon Power, now CEO of Fisher Funds). We met in a pleasant shared office space in downtown Auckland.

Three things really stood out from the presentation:

1.      Associate Professor Matthews highlighting that achieving the lump sum required to move from a ‘no frills’ budget in retirement to a ‘choices’ budget was less than many think, and therefore achievable. This practical optimism is often lost in the overly dramatic world of political debate, and is the natural ally of good quality financial planning.
2.      Dr Wood’s caution that you can live on New Zealand Superannuation provided that: you own a home, you have no debt, and you’re happy with a simple life that includes almost no travel. Pushpa then added very supportive comments about the value of professionalism, boosting her host’s mission.
3.      Jane Wrightson warned us against tinkering needlessly with New Zealand superannuation and encouraged our participation in the upcoming review of retirement income policies.

Pulling it all together, it felt like these are the lessons:

1.      To boost quality of life in retirement we need comprehensive and lasting cross-party efforts to make housing more available and more affordable.

2.      In the absence of good policy individuals can do much to steer their financial affairs better and advice helps a lot. It’s a big problem, but not insurmountable for the careful and well-advised.

3.      The Massey Fin Ed Centre academics offer consistently practical and useful contributions that help guide financial advisers and their customers towards saving for a comfortable retirement.

A reminder: Kiwimonster is live – the new, free KiwiSaver comparison tool built specifically for financial advisers. Check it out at www.kiwimonster.co.nz

Changes on the horizon for Fidelity Life

Fidelity Life is set to release a suite of enhancements and programmes over the next couple of months. In a video featuring Campbell Mitchell, CEO and Bronwyn Kirwan, Chief Commercial Officer, Bronwyn mentions in a couple of weeks changes will be made to underwriting processes to make it easier for customers.

The invite-only Grow Together programme, which aims to provide market-leading support across key contact areas, with dedicated support resources, will be launching in February. More information will be released in the coming weeks.

Registrations are open for Group IQ, a quarterly digital communication with the latest industry news, and Group HQ, an annual onsite conference for the top 30 groups advisers offering tailored content, expert speakers and networking opportunities.

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