Thorners August 2011 Newsletter
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Thorners August Newsletter
Click on the link to see if your protection plan is complete August 2010 newsletter
Click here to view our disclosure statement.
Click here to email Thorners or Call Us on (04) 528 8088
What happens if all of your information isn’t written on the application form?
It is really important when somebody else completes an insurance application for you that you check to see the answers are correct and that no information has been left out.
The insurer can avoid the policy and decline to consider the claim if all the information wasn’t written on the application form.
Even when your broker writes the answers on the application on your behalf, you are still expected to read all the answers and sign a statement declaring all the information is correct.
At Thorners we always provide you with a copy of everything completed during a Life Insurance interview to give you time to reconsider your answers.
Call Thorners if you are considering any form of insurance to get the best advice in New Zealand.
Click here to email Thorners or Call Us on (04) 528 8088
Click here to view our disclosure statement.
Click here to email Thorners or Call Us on (04) 528 8088
What happens if you fail to disclose information to an insurer?
Currently the NZ law does not make a distinction between deliberate or innocent non disclosure. Effectively if you just left information out of an insurance application unintentionally or by accident, the insurer can still decline your claim, avoid your policy or make changes to your policy.
Contact Thorners if you need insurance advice and we will work with you to ensure that you understand the proposal form and disclose the relevent information.
Thorners service clients New zealand wide and are an award winning insurance agency offering personalised service.
Click here to email Thorners or Call Us on (04) 528 8088
Click here to view our disclosure statement.
Click here to email Thorners or Call Us on (04) 528 8088
Income protection costs more for ladies
Women pay more than twice as much for income protection insurance as men because they make more claims for mental health and stress-related conditions, say insurance companies.
As the insurance industry reports a big rise in the number of New Zealanders taking out income protection policies, premium schedules show women pay significantly more for the products.
For example, a 35-year-old non-smoking man insuring a $65,000 annual income will pay $39 a month for an AIG Life IP policy. A 35-year-old woman with the same profile will pay almost $85.
Premiums go up with age for both sexes, but the disparity remains – at 50 the man will pay $129 a month whereas the woman will pay $270. AIG said it had always been the case that women made more stress-related claims. These claims were expensive, hence the difference in pricing.
In the most recent study to date which was undertaken in 2002, 30 per cent of claims made by New Zealand women on their income protection insurance were for mental/nervous conditions. For men that figure was 16 per cent. There was no reason to believe the trend had changed, and more recent studies in Australia showed a similar breakdown.
For men the major cause of claims was accidents but women did not make many accident claims.
Mental health and stress-related claims tended to run for much longer and were harder to terminate, and so this was built in to the pricing.
“You can see when a leg is well and somebody can go back to work.
“I can’t really tell if you’re not depressed any more.”
Insurance companies simply looked at where they were incurring the most claims and did not necessarily try to explain the trends. “It really all comes down to what an actuary thinks the expected claims are going to be.”
Why women would make more stress or mental health-related claims at work does not appear to have been well researched so far. Investment Savings and Insurance Association chief executive Vance Arkinstall said he was not aware of the disparity.
A spokeswoman for insurer ING said its income protection premiums were higher for women, but this was because women made more claims across the board.
The Attitude NZ survey released this year by research company Perceptive found that women reported higher levels of stress than men in all areas including saving ability, retirement security, job security, quality of life and health and well-being.
Auckland University associate professor of economics, Susan St John, said the private insurance industry differentiated by gender because it was allowed to and it was easy, not because there were necessarily two risk groups.
If there were a unisex pool of insured people the risk would be spread. “In this case the risk discrimination is simply by gender, which is a crude risk discriminator.”
A survey of 1000 New Zealanders released last week by AIG Life showed 23 per cent have income protection insurance, compared with 13 per cent two years ago.
If you are looking for sound life insurance advice, contact Denis Thorner on 0274 575 190 or email denis@thorner.co.nz Denis provides advice to clients New Zealand wide.
Click here to view our disclosure statement.
Denis Thorner recently won the Best Trade/Service Business Award at the 2009 Upper Hutt Business Excellence Awards, he belongs to the PAA and is a life long member of MDRT
Click here to view our disclosure statement.
Click here to email Thorners or Call Us on (04) 528 8088
Redundancy, mortgage protection and disability insurance are all different
Mortgage protection insurance, which sometimes has a redundancy cover component, will only pay the mortgage for six months if the insured is made redundant. The amount paid under the policy will also be offset against any redundancy benefit. Redundancy insurance payouts are not made if the consumer anticipated being made redundant and there may also be a long wait period before a claim can be initiated following acceptance of the new policy.
During recessions more people take out income and mortgage protection insurance when they feel their jobs are at risk – but “there’s no perfect insurance solution to protect them from that”. It only covers a percentage of lost income if they suffer an accident or illness.
Many consumers don’t know how much they will be paid if they have to make an income protection claim, and don’t realise that if they get an ACC payment, it will be offset against their insurance.
A consumer with income protection insurance who opts to take lower levels of ACC cover may be caught out if their policy provides that it will offset either what the insured receives – or what they were entitled to receive – under ACC. This means even if the consumer deliberately reduces their ACC entitlement, the insurer can offset the full benefit they could have claimed.
Most income protection insurance problems stem from its disclosure provisions. Karen Stevens, Insurance Ombudsman, says non-disclosure complaints form a quarter of her work. People don’t tell their insurance provider information they needed to properly underwrite the policy.
Insurers can then choose to void the policy – so not only will the person not have a claim paid, they will not have a policy in the future.
If you are looking for sound insurance advice, contact Denis Thorner today on 0274 575 190 or by email denis@thorner.co.nz Denis services clients New Zealand wide.
Click here to view our disclosure statement.
Denis Thorner, winner Best Trade / Service Business at the 2009 Upper Hutt Business Excellence Awards.
Click here to view our disclosure statement.
Click here to email Thorners or Call Us on (04) 528 8088
Mayoral congratulations to Thorners for recent business award
Mayor of Upper Hutt Wayne Guppy has written to Denis Thorner to express his congratulations on winning the recent Upper Hutt Business Excellence Award for Best Trade/Service Business 2009.
Wayne commented this is indeed a magnificent achievment and I am sure that you are all very proud of your achievment. He also wished to thank Thorners for their support and commitment to the citizens of Upper Hutt.
To experience service excellence, contact Thorners for all of your insurance, home loan and KiwiSaver requirements today. Thorners service clients New Zealand wide and offer home appointments from Wellington through to Napier by arrangement.
Click here to email Thorners or Call Us on (04) 528 8088
Click here to view our disclosure statement.
Click here to email Thorners or Call Us on (04) 528 8088
Understanding Life Insurance Premiums
While paying for your protection benefits can seem pretty simple – the regular amount required is deducted from your bank on the due date – the reality is that there are a number of different premium structures on offer and if you are not aware of how your particular premium structure works then there may be some surprises for you in the future.
Lets look at the most common premium structure known as YEARLY RENEWABLE TERM or RATE FOR AGE.
This structure often represents the cheapest premium option in the first year.
The structure allows for annual, age related increases in premium so you pay an increasing price each year in conjunction with the life assured’s increasing age.
The structure also allows the company to pass on any increases or decreases in the underlying rates for age on the next policy anniversary following the rate change. this means that the future premium illustrated to you at the time you purchased your policy were estimated based on the underlying rates that were applicable at that time and are not guaranteed. Future premiums may differ from those illustrated according to the company’s actual experience of claims and persistency.
If you select an annually reviewable premium structure, you should be expecting your premiums to increase each year on the policy anniversary date.
Many people also choose the CPI Increase option to retain the true value of their benefits.
Because the premiums are increasing, the premiums payable for the benefits you have elected to CPI index will also increase by the inflation rate. these CPI increases in benefits and premiums will take effect on every policy anniversary.
There are options and we recommend that all clients also consider a Level premium option to provide certainty in the future.
Contact Thorners to discuss the premium options available to you. We offer a New Zealand wide insurance service and applications can also be made online for Life and Health cover from the link on the Thorner website.
Click here to email Thorners or Call Us on (04) 528 8088
Click here to view our disclosure statement
Click here to view our disclosure statement.
Click here to email Thorners or Call Us on (04) 528 8088
