The amount paid out in claims by the personal insurance industry (life and income protection insurance) in the year ending December 2013 was $1,113,506,000. This makes it the third successive year that the New Zealand industry has paid more than one billion dollars out in claims.
Peter Neilson, the chief executive of the Financial Services Council (FSC), said the industry was expanding in personal income protection insurance. He said long-term illnesses were twice as likely to strike down employees than accidents, and were not covered by ACC.
Although many people thought they would be covered by the sickness benefit in the event of health issues affecting their employment, income testing meant about 60% of households would be ineligible. “We end up with the majority of New Zealanders too rich for government help, but too poor to pay the mortgage.”
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Regan Thomas