There are eight major life insurance companies in New Zealand. All of these insurance companies are keen to provide us with life insurance quotes…on your behalf.
In addition to these insurance companies, many banks often have their own ‘in house’ life insurance products. Those that don’t have an ‘in house’ product will use one the major life insurance companies to underwrite their policies.
The key when deciding which Life Insurance company to use is who will be there to look after you at claim time? Will be the person on the end of the phone that you speak to? Will it be the bank teller who sold you life insurance?
We recommend dealing with a professional insurance broker (like us of course!) who will be able to give you quality advice and will be there to help you when you need them at claim time.
It’s not just about providing the best life insurance quotes at quote time, it’s also about being taken care of at the time when you really need it.
All of the life insurance companies below use a network of professional insurance advisers to distribute their insurance products. Also included are their claims paying ability ratings which are an independent assessment of an operating insurance company’s ability to pay its claims (there is no legal obligation on life insurance companies to be rated).
The easiest and fastes way to get the best quote that suits your situation is to let us provide you with quotes and recommendations.
Our quotes service is free and completely independent.
AIA Life Insurance Quotes
AIA New Zealand is a member of the AIA Group and commenced operations in New Zealand in 1981. They have a head office based in Auckland and a number of regional offices. AIA has a Standard and Poor’s rating of A+
AMP Life Insurance Quotes
AMP began selling life insurance policies in New Zealand in 1854. The company has its head office located in Auckland. AMP has a Standard and Poor’s rating of AA-
Asteron Life Insurance Quotes
Asteron is a member of the Suncorp Group and operates in New Zealand and Australia. As at February 2010 Asteron elected not to be rated.
AXA Life Insurance Quotes
The foundations of AXA New Zealand stretch back 120 years, back to when they were called National Mutual. AXA has a Standard and Poor’s rating of A+
Fidelity Life Insurance Quotes
Fidelity Life was founded in 1973 and today Fidelity Life is the largest New Zealand-owned and controlled Life Insurance company. Fidelity Life has an AM Best rating of A-
ING Life Insurance Quotes
ING Life has recently been purchased by ANZ and will shortly be re-branded. At this time ING Life has elected not to be rated.
Sovereign Life Insurance Quotes
Sovereign’s head office is located on Auckland’s North Shore. They are part of the ASB group of companies and as at 22 December 2009 Sovereign had an AM Best rating of A+
Tower Life Insurance Quotes
TOWER commenced business in New Zealand in 1869 as a government department selling life insurance policies and pensions. It has grown and transformed over the past 139 years and its business today is mainly focused on selected niches in the risk insurance and wealth management markets. Tower has an AM Best rating of A+
Getting Life Insurance Quotes and choosing the right life insurance policy can be a tricky process.
No two people are alike – it’s all about you and what your family and loved ones will need if the unexpected happens and you are longer around.
Having life insurance means that those close to you have time to grieve and adjust to life without you and are shielded from financial pressure.
Life Insurance Quotes: Things to Consider
When you are choosing a life insurance policy from quotes that are presented to you, one of the key things to consider is ‘how long am I going to need this policy for’?
The key reason for this question is long term affordability. The premiums for most life insurance policies increase each year as you get older (rate for age) – long term this can mean that potentially it could become unaffordable – $200,000 life insurance for a 25 year old is comparatively inexpensive but for a 60 year old it’s a totally different story.
Predictable Life Insurance Premiums
The good news is that with a bit of forethought and planning you can protect yourself long term and have certain and predicable premiums. Most life insurance companies offer ‘level’ policies as well as ‘rate for age’. A ‘level’ premium policy maintains a fixed premium over the lifetime of the policy, until you reach age 65 or 70.
Level policies cost a bit more to start out with but over the lifetime of the policy you can save tens of thousands of dollars. The younger you are when you take out a level policy the lower the premium will be and the more money you will save.
It can be hard to judge how much life insurance you are going need going forward and to make long term plans when you never can be sure what’s around the corner. That’s why we recommend taking out a bit of both types of life insurance cover – some ‘level’ and some ‘rate for age’.
Think about any long term needs that you have (e.g. leaving an inheritance for your children or a nest egg for your partner) and consider a ‘level’ policy for this with short term needs e.g. debt on a ‘rate for age’ policy. Over time as your debt decreases you can reduce the amount of life insurance that you need but still have long term cover with the ‘level’ policy.
Special Life Events
When choosing from a selection of life insurance quotes, the right life insurance policy it’s not just about the type of policy or the price. A lot of life insurance companies offer extra benefits such as the ability to increase your cover without any more underwriting (great if your health has deteriorated) with a ‘special life events’ benefit. Some examples of a ‘special event’ are getting married, buying a house or having a child.
Most life insurance policies also contain a ‘terminal illness’ benefit which means that your policy may pay out before you die, if you are diagnosed with a terminal illness. This means that you can spend time with your family, maybe do that last big trip and tidy up your affairs before you pass away. Also, you will know that your family are going to be looked after once you are gone.
Every insurance company offers different benefits, premium structures and options – it’s a lot to consider. A specialist life insurance broker can help you with deciding what’s best for you and your family.
Choosing a life insurance quote from the right broker can be tricky. Even more difficult can be getting the right person for you.
We recommend using a specialist risk insurance broker, who concentrates on providing life insurance quotes for the best products and the best service in their chosen field.
Whilst the idea of a ‘one stop shop’ for mortgages, life insurance, household insurance, financial and investment advice might sound attractive, the reality is that it would have to be a pretty special person to be totally up to date in all of these areas.
That’s why getting quotes from a broker who specialises in life insurance quotes is a good idea.
Get Quotes From Multiple Insurance Companies
When you are looking for a life insurance broker we recommend that you choose one who has relationships with all o f the major life insurance companies. This gives you – the client – more options. It also means that the broker has more than one chance to give you the best quote and the best deal.
Most life insurance brokers hold a number of formal agency relationships with insurance product providers. These relationships are usually reviewed on a regular basis using a number of different criteria listed. They include but are not limited to:
- Claims experience
- Underwriting terms
- Financial backing and credit rating
- Relative market position
- Premium rates
- Product features and benefits
At the end of the day, getting the best life insurance for you or your family is not just about price. An insurance company can have the most competitive pricing around but if they don’t pay out their claims, or are difficult to deal with they probably aren’t the right company for you.
A good life insurance broker will have established relationships with multiple providers and should be able to offer you free, no obligation quotes and advice.
Look for life insurance brokers who are happy to give you their disclosure document as soon as possible, this document should set out who they deal with, what their qualifications are etc ,and if they are affiliated to an industry body.
A key part of any life insurance plan is ensuring that it is kept up to date. Your life insurance is only good if it is current. The right broker should have a process where they review their client’s insurance plans to ensure that they are still meeting their needs as their circumstances change.
A good question to ask your prospective life insurance broker when you receive a quotes or several quotes would be ‘Do you have a review process? What happens if I need to claim? They should be able to answer these question easily, reviewing clients cover on annual basis is the best answer, at a minimum every second year.
As for claims, you should know that you can pick up the phone and talk to someone who is on your side and will act on your behalf at claim time whenever you need them.
Thank you for visiting our Life Insurance Quotes Website. Would you agree that most people like to know that they’re getting the best deal when it comes to paying for the essentials in life? We do, and we think Life Insurance is no different!
That’s why we started this life insurance quotes service. You’ll find our service free easy, and fast.
We’ve been totally independent, experienced life insurance brokers working New Zealand-wide for the last 9 years. And and we’ve successfully helped thousands of Kiwi families to protect what’s important to them. We’re now bringing that commitment to you with our online service…and that commitment ’s what makes us different.
Go ahead and give us a try.
