January 2012 Newsletter
Client below to read our first newsletter for 2012!!
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Real Life New Zealander’s Life Insurance Claim stories
Ever wonder why you pay Life Insurance and wonder what is covers?
Ever wonder if anybody ever gets paid out on a claim?
Follow this link to see real life New Zealander’s and their personal life claim stories.
https://www.sovereign.co.nz/real-life-insurance/
Let me know if you need to review your life cover – Denis@thorner.co.nz 0274 575190
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Premium refunds on life policies are reintroduced
Life insurance premium refunds have just been reintroduced to New Zealand.
We need to speak soon if you want the ability to have life insurance cover and to get a premium refund after a specified term. Follow the links below or call me directly to discuss how this may fit into your personal insurance plan – Denis Thorner 0274 575190
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Click here to email Thorners or Call Us on (04) 528 8088
Thorners June 2010 Newsletter
Follow the link to read Thorners June 2010 Newsletter
Click here to view our disclosure statement.
Click here to email Thorners or Call Us on (04) 528 8088
KiwiSaver – the key to your first home
As we approach the third anniversary of KiwiSaver, many New Zealanders will be thinking about the tax free government housing subsidy available from 1 July 2010 – just one of the many benefits of KiwiSaver. In addition, members will be able to apply to withdraw their contributions to buy a first home or purchase land to build a first home. So, how does it work?
First home deposit subsidy
After 3 years of contributing at least 2% of their income to KiwiSaver, members will be able to apply for a one-off grant* of $1,000 for each year they’ve contributed to KiwiSaver. The subsidy increases by $1,000 per year up to $5,000. So, if they successfully apply for the subsidy after 5 years of contributing to KiwiSaver, they will receive $5,000. Eligible couples can also combine their subsidies up to $10,000.
First home withdrawal
After 3 years of being invested in KiwiSaver, members will be able to withdraw their own contributions and their employer’s contributions for a home deposit (excluding the $1,000 kick start and Member Tax Credits). It must be their first home not an investment property. There is no minimum contribution amount to be eligible for the first home withdrawal. And for those second home buyers, they may still be eligible to withdraw their contributions if they’re in the same financial position as a first home buyer.
If members are eligible for this fantastic offer, they’ll stay a member of KiwiSaver and continue to grow their savings while taking advantage of the scheme’s other great benefits.
For more information visit www.hnzc.co.nz or www.kiwisaver.govt.nz
* Income, house caps and other eligibility criteria apply.
Contact Thorners if you need any advice on KiwiSaver.
Click here to view our disclosure statement.
Click here to email Thorners or Call Us on (04) 528 8088
KiwiSaver Statistics January 2010
KiwiSaver continues to gain momentum.
At the end of January 2010 there were 1,305,127 members with potentially 491,330 being in default funds. There are benefits from choosing your own provider and fund so let’s talk about your options if you have gone to a default provider.
If you are still sitting on the fence over whether to join or not, contact us soon to see if KiwiSaver fits your personal situation.
The ability to transfer Australian Super into KiwiSaver is still not in place and this is expected mid year – watch our website for developments.
Members continue to be amazed with the speed with which their funds are accumulating. If your provider doesn’t offer online access, give us a call and we can discuss options to make this facility available 24/7.
We welcome your call or email to ask about KiwiSaver and look forward to hearing from you soon.
Click here to view our disclosure statement.
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
Thorners Newsletter March 2010
In the current economic environment, the cost of day to day living continues to increase and we all need to regularly review our financial options.
Life Insurance Premiums:
Everybody dislikes paying premiums and the Life Insurance Tax Bill, which was passed by Parliament last year, is going to have an effect on the majority of NZ households who hold life policies.
In short there are proposed tax changes which will affect how life companies are taxed on their insurance products. Effective from 1 July 2010 all new life policies sold will be subject to these tax changes. Some companies have already started to increase premiums to make the change appear more seamless.
Existing “rate for age” or “annually reviewable” policies which are the most common products sold in the market will almost certainly have the increase applied and it is currently unclear on whether this will be applied immediately or grandfathered in over a period of five years so you need to keep abreast of the changes.
Competitions
Sovereign had a great pre Christmas holiday competition for all their clients and I am delighted to say that a Thorners client took away the prize which consisted of an $8,000 holiday plus $2,000 spending money. The client plans to take their children on a Surfer’s getaway adventure and to then have an adult only Irish experience. Thank you to all of you who entered and congratulations to our winner.
I am available to discuss your insurance and investment needs in what is a difficult time for many of us at the moment so feel free to contact me if you have any questions. My personal email is denis@thorner.co.nz or phone 04 528 8088.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Kind regards
DENIS.
Click here to view our disclosure statement.
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
Life Policies tipped to hike in price
The Government passed the new Life Office tax laws last year and the resulting premium increase will become effective from 1 July 2010.
This link takes you to a recent news article which gives all New Zealander’s something to ponder.
Give us a call to discuss your options if you are concerned about your level of life insurance and if you want to avoid being hit by tax changes.
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
Life Insurance non disclosure – don’t let this happen to your family at claim time
Article courtesy of the Dom Post – note the comment from the Insurance Ombudsman.
The family of slain cyclist Frank van Kampen will be able to stay in their home after an insurance company backtracked on its decision not to pay out on his death.
Mr Van Kampen’s insurance company, ING New Zealand, told his partner Jude Pauwels last Thursday that it would pay out only half Mr Van Kampen’s life insurance, saying he had voided his policy by failing to tell the company he had a minor bowel condition.
The company reversed its decision yesterday afternoon after Ms Pauwels contacted The Dominion Post in desperation.
Mr Van Kampen, 46, a teacher, was killed by Te Horo grandmother Alison Downer, 71, who has admitted she was driving drunk when she hit him as he cycled home to Otaki from Waikanae in September.
Ms Pauwels is on a widow’s benefit and was relying on the $157,000 payout to cover the mortgage on Mr Van Kampen’s one-bedroom cottage, where she lives with her son Dante, 13, and the couple’s five-month-old daughter, Alexandra. “I get $400 a week and that barely pays for food and nappies and clothes for the kids.” ING’s initial offer of $80,000 would not have been enough to keep them in the house. “We’d literally be in the gutter.”
She was “very, very pleased” ING had changed its mind. But she said she should not have had to plead with the company or go to the media to get it to reverse the decision.
“It’s very stressful and traumatic that I had to go through this. It’s hard enough getting the kids through Christmas without Frank – and now this on top of it.”
Jeremy Nicoll, managing director of ING’s insurance division, said the company had changed its decision after he and a claims manager reviewed the case. “We took it to the next step and said, ‘Let’s be fair about this.’ We both had a look at it independently and came to the same decision [to pay the full amount].”
The staff member who made the original decision to pay out only part of the claim was “just following due process”, Mr Nicoll said.
Insurance and Savings Ombudsman spokesman Lionel Hinton said that, if ING would have offered different terms had Mr Van Kampen disclosed his bowel condition, it was within its rights to deny the claim, despite his death not resulting from that condition.
Ms Pauwels said the contrast between her situation and Downer’s was “so marked and unjust”. “Frank’s killer gets to spend Christmas in her beachfront mansion and I get to spend Christmas fighting for my home.”
Downer, who is on bail until her sentencing on February 3, had still not contacted the family or apologised, she said.
Make sure your life cover pays out quickly by ensuring you have made full disclosure to your insurer at application time. If you have any doubts, contact them to discuss the information you have supplied.
For further information on non disclosure, visit our web site www.thorner.co.nz
Click here to view our disclosure statement.
Click here to email Thorners or Call Us on (04) 528 8088
Mortgage Interest Rates Have Moved Again
Circumstances change quickly in the current financial environment and you may be unaware that the recent mortgage interest rate changes announced on 9 September have widened the gap between short and long term fixed interest rates. This reflects the changing cost of offshore funds which banks rely on to supplement the funds their local depositors place with them. There has been an easing in the cost of shorter term offshore funding but there is also significant competition in the New Zealand deposit market, which continues to push the rates higher than they would otherwise be.
The result is regular reviews of your mortgage have become more important than ever. Not just to ensure ongoing affordability, but more importantly, to ensure that the structure is appropriate to your current and future needs and goals.
While having some of your mortgage on a floating rate offers flexibility, it is a facility more suited to those who are in a position to place bulk sums into it to reduce their overall lending to obtain the resulting interest savings, even if only for short periods of time.
Unless you are in a position to clear the majority of your floating rate loan in the short term, it may be more appropriate to change some to a fixed interest rate to provide some certainty going into the future. I do not have a crystal ball but the NZ Treasury predict that short term rates will remain low for the next year and Bank’s have been speculating floating rates will rise back to the 8% level over the next two years.
Now is also good time to check that you are financially protected and prepared for life’s events – planned or unexpected and ultimately I want to help to keep your home in your hands. The last thing you want to see is your home slipping out of your hands, should you be unable to meet your loan repayments. If you died, would you leave behind enough resources to pay off your home loan and safeguard your dependants’ future?
I am available to discuss your investment, insurance, mortgage and KiwiSaver needs in what is a difficult time for many of us at the moment so please feel free to contact me anytime if you have any questions. My personal email is denis@thorner.co.nz or ph 04 528 8088.
Click here to view our disclosure statement.
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
