Life insurance pays a lump sum or monthly payment in the event of death or terminal illness.
We have a range of solutions that can give you peace of mind. They are simple, straightforward and affordable plans that can be tailored to your situation. The plans are also flexible, so as life changes so can your level of protection.
What is Life & Life Income Cover? A lump sum or monthly payment in the event of death or terminal illness.
Why do you need it?
If you died, how would your family cope financially? What do you want for their future?
You could use your Life Insurance Cover to:
replace a lost income
provide financial 'breathing space' while coming to terms with the loss of a loved one
give a surviving parent or guardian the option to be able to stay home with the children
pay off the mortgage and any other debts you may have
set aside a nest egg for a surviving partner's retirement
cover the costs of education and healthcare for your family
as a minimum, use it to cover the cost of a funeral.
If you had a machine in your lounge creating money for you ... wouldn't you insure it?
Unless you're retired you do, it's called you!
Alongside your health, your ability to earn is your most important asset and for a small portion of your current income you can help protect this. All income protection policies are specifically designed for each client with the ability to choose from a range of options.
We can help you to identify the most appropriate options for your individual situation and provide you with peace of mind that you will be financially secure should you lose the ability to work.
Contact Jonathan York on 07 578 3863 to discuss or arrange a free no obligation insurance review.
Are you prepared for the unexpected?
An estimated 17% of the total population live with a disability.
For adults aged 15 to 44, accident or injuies are the most common cause of disability
(source Statistics New Zealand 2006 Disability Survey)
At one time, health insurance was only for those who preferred to use the private health system. But times have changed.
With the cost of medical treatments and the availability of new procedures and drugs increasing, more and more New Zealanders are going private.
While urgent treatment is always available through the public system, people can find themselves in a slow-moving queue for those ailments that aren't immediately life threatening.
The solution
Health insurance eliminates waiting on public waiting lists, getting you treated and on the way to living normally again as soon as possible. That is its primary benefit for most people, and why it is worth considering.
One of the most commonly used, but most misunderstood, insurance policies is Critical Illness cover. Sometimes called "Trauma Insurance" is a lump sum of money which gets paid out if you suffer from one of the defined illnesses listed in the policy.
The big illnesses are the ones you'd expect – cancer, stroke, cardiac conditions. They account for the overwhelming majority of the Critical Illness claims, and most people are familiar with them because we see them all the time. Everyone knows a family member, co-worker, friend who has suffered from a critical illness – it is actually quite common.
Critical illness insurance is a unique product, which is designed for the living. You may well survive a critical illness, but there will certainly be a financial loss that you may never fully recover from. Here are some ways that clients use their Critical Illness cover:
Leave of absence for you or your spouse
Child care costs
Domestic help
Costs of medication that the public system might not provide
Alternative treatment which can be costly but effective
Treatment outside of NZ
Time away from work to properly recover
Nursing home/private nursing care costs
Make changes to your home or vehicle if required
Repayment of your debt
Ability to change jobs if you so choose
A recovery vacation with loved ones
Business owners will use critical illness insurance to provide much-needed funds to:
Cover business expenses
Shareholder buy-out
Key person coverage
Corporate debt repayment
Provide cash for family members to come into business
There’s no NEED to lose all your income if you lose your job, but …
Most people agree that a “job for life” doesn’t exist anymore, so this risk is real. Redundancy is all too common - it is a “risk” every employee now faces.
The few who offer some form redundancy insurance generally have a policy which promises to pay up to 70% of your gross (before tax) salary for up to 6 months if you are made redundant from your job. So, on the surface the mortgage, food and power bills look like they can be met, which reduce your stress and increase your new employment chances.
Pretty much everyone with a family says at some point “I must have some life insurance”. The problem is usually then trying to figure out how much is the right amount.
The following are generally the questions that need to be considered, and which help to figure out how much is enough.
The medical insurance company nib, have released figures on claims they paid out on in 2015. They say:
"Do you remember being 20 years old? Catching a frisbee down at the beach, dancing in clubs until the wee hours of the morning. We all may like to believe this is the norm, however the 2015 claim rates released this month continue to illustrate the requirement for nib health cover for everyone, including those as young as teenagers.
In 2015 nib met claims by both males and females under 20 years of age for hip and spine procedures. With the top claim over $55k, it raises the question, had nib health cover not been in place, what would they have done? (Did you have a spare $55k when you were that age?).
The nib value continues as we move up the demographic. Looking at those aged between 21- 30 years, the top 3 spine related paid claims came in at an average of $45k. Higher in value still is the top claim for this age bracket of general surgery for the pancreas, which amounted to $58k. These are real cases where real people felt the benefit of their nib health cover.
Chemotherapy continues to be a top claim point for those 31 years and above, with this being the top claim type for each age segment between 31 and 61 years. With the peak cost being $214k (within the 31-40 age bracket), nib policies continue to illustrate their fundamental value and why it’s never too soon to be prepared.
In the 41- 50 age bracket, radiation for bowel cancer is one of the top met claims, with an associated cost of $115k. Claims relating to general surgery for stomach cancer have also been met at the value of $85k.
Bowel and breast cancer continue to be key causes of claims in the 61-70 age bracket, with claims of $115k and $113k respectively being submitted and subsequently approved by nib.
Moving into the 71- 80 year old bracket, top claims are for heart procedures (bypass and valve replacement) and chemotherapy for bowel cancer, with nib continuing to provide value to our Health Cover policy holders by approving $95k claims in both cases.
So while you may be thinking ‘I’m still too young’ or ‘I’m in good health’ these real claims for real individuals act as a reminder of just how valuable heath cover can be."
We say that in New Zealand we have a very good tax payer funded public health system. If you are in critical condition - about to die - you will almost certainly get world class medical care. But if you aren't about to die those who are, are always going to be higher on the priority list for treatment.
If you died, how would your family cope financially? What do you want for their future?
If you had a machine in your lounge creating money for you ... wouldn't you insure it?
With the cost of medical treatments and the availability of new procedures and drugs increasing, more and more New Zealanders are going private.