Some need to know, with a bit of WealthDesign nice to know thrown in.
At the end of 2012 NIB purchased Tower Medical Insurance. NIB is a new name to the New Zealand market but has been around for 60 years in Australia and has over one million customers. It is now the second largest medical insurer in New Zealand. NIB is confident that they can bring innovation to the New Zealand health insurance market. You may have seen their new adverts on television featuring Benji Marshall.
If you are an existing Tower Medical Insurance client, it’s business as usual. If you need a claim form or to lodge a claim, give us a call. We’re here to help.
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Research shows that there are fewer than 1800 financial advisers authorised to give personalised financial advice in New Zealand. The scary thing is, of these only around 360 are non-aligned or not linked to product providers, banks or insurance companies. This minority aren’t allowed to advertise that they are independent. So where do you go to get impartial, quality advice?
In my opinion, being authorised might allow you to give advice but this shouldn’t be the minimum level of qualification one should have, to provide quality advice. There has always been an education pathway before the latest round of regulations. People should look for those advisers who believe in further education and who have demonstrated this by becoming either a CLU or CFP. These designations carry a higher qualification that AFA, providing their clients with the best quality advice in the market.
I advise you to ask what qualifications your potential financial adviser has. It’s your life, so shop around to make sure you have the best adviser, someone that you’re comfortable with, and who is well qualified.
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When analysing the 32,759 financial advisers in New Zealand, only 325 are Authorised Financial Advisers (AFA) who could be classed as non-aligned or independent (even though they aren’t legally allowed to say they’re independent!). Don’t get us wrong, we aren’t saying 99% of the market are incompetent or giving poor advice, it’s just they have split loyalty.
If you are getting advice, you want to see a written report. This should include what the product is and why it is suitable for you. If the adviser is tied to a provider or has a conflict of interest, it should be clearly stated in their disclosure statement.
Even in the new world of regulation, it pays to know who is giving you advice. Do some research, and ask some questions.
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Beware the insurance agent with shoddy terms of engagement. There are firms encouraging their clients to sign terms of engagement that allows them to bill anyone who changes their insurance policy in the first 24 months. The worst thing is this is a charge to cover the commission claw-back that the advisor receives when a policy is changed. It’s a way of passing it onto the client. Sometimes your circumstances change and you may need to review your insurance costs. Or, you may not agree with what advice you received, or you could possibly find a better solution. Don’t sign any legal document without legal advice. If offered a shoddy terms of engagement, show them the door and look for a qualified certified financial planner.
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If your home is currently insured for an unspecified replacement cost, on renewal your insurance policy will shift to a maximum specified amount. This total specified amount is the maximum the insurance company will pay in the event of a total loss. This is a big deal – it is important to check your total sum insured.
If you set it too low, you may have to rebuild to a lesser size or quality, or top up the rebuilding costs. If you set the total sum insured too high, you will pay more than you need to pay. The insurance company will only pay what it costs to rebuild.
Keep in mind too that rebuilding in the country can be more expensive than rebuilding in town.
Take the time to check your insurance; getting it wrong could be a very costly mistake.
We continue making the complicated simple – including the new home insurance changes! Give us a call now – let’s get this one sorted for you.
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