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Cigna's 'New Professionals' Insurance Offer

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Different Types of Premiums

What  are Stepped premiums?   When the cost of your cover is recalculated each year based on your age at your policy anniversary. Generally, this means your premium will increase each year as you get older What are level insurance premiums?  Level-premium insurance is a type of life insurance in which premiums stay the same price throughout the term, while the amount of coverage offered increases.  With level premiums you often pay a higher premium initially wh...

Key Person Protection Insurance

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Employee Benefits

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Covering Business Debt

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Business Planning Succession

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Toni's Disclosure Statement

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Faye's Disclosure Statement

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David's Disclosure Statement

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Financial Advice Provider Disclosure Statement

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The 'Insurance Companies Don't Pay' Myth

There is a widely discussed myth that ‘Insurance companies don’t pay’. Whilst everyone seems to have a neighbour, aunty, or acquaintance who supposedly missed out on a claim, this simply is not true - insurance companies DO pay, when you fully disclose your situation from the start.  The reality is that full disclosure is the key. If you fail to disclose a family history of medical issues, a previous illness or your smoking status, the insurance company will not cover you if...

What is Underwriting?

Insurance can often include a range of technical terms and jargon that can be confusing. That’s where we come in - we’re here to talk you through the insurance process, and answer any questions along the way.  We are often asked, what is underwriting? Underwriting is a term used to describe the process of evaluating risk, ensuring that the cost of the cover is proportionate to the risks faced by the person. Insurance companies need to understand the risk in order to ...

Does your medical provider cover Non-Pharmac funded drugs?

Here's an interesting article from Sovereign's latest Hotline 1081 on 19.09.16. It highlights the importance of having the right medical cover in place. Contact us to find out if your medical policy provides cover for non-Pharmac funded drugs should you ever need them. Want to know what impact Pharmac's funding decisions have on the value customers get from their health insurance? Pharmac has recently started funding drugs for the treatment of advanced melanoma, Opdivo from 1 July 2016 and ...

5 Mistakes People Make When Buying Insurance

Life insurance is not a simple purchase but there are many options which claim to make it easy and stress free. However, are they the best options and are consumers making the right choices? The 5 most common mistakes are: Mistake 1.Buying insurance online without good professional advice Generally, when you buy insurance over the phone from an online or tele-provider, the assessment process is seen to be simpler! In fact, the insurer really is appealing to your request for brevity and simp...

Get YOUR Personal Warrant of Fitness

Dr Paul Stephens, of Cambridge Medical Centre, has some wise words for all of us to consider - perhaps even more so for men who have no hesitation in get their vehicles warranted, but often forget about themselves. June is Men's Health Month and NOW would be a good time to make an appointment with your GP for YOUR own warrant of fitness. Men and women should have a general health check from the age of 40 years. If your doctor hasn't organised this for you then please ask your GP to arrange this...

Will your Medical Insurance cover ALL your surgery costs??

Here's an interesting article from Stuff.co.nz about the shortfall in surgery costs with Southern Cross policy holders. It shows how important it is to have a medical insurance with a provider that pays 100% of the costs (less your excess if you have one). It is also so important to get prior approval from your insurer to make sure you know if there is any shortfall BEFORE you have your surgery. Read the full article here and don't forget that as part of our service to our clients, we deal with ...

Cambridge Autumn Festival Short Story Competition 2016

Once again we were delighted to sponsor the Cambridge Autumn Festival Short Story competition. Every year the entries grow in number as more and more talented people send in their short stories based around a common theme. This year the theme was "Convincing Lie" and the Judges were very impressed with the entries. The winners were: 1st Place: Ria Masae 2nd Place: Amy Martin 3rd Place: Melanie Dixon If you'd like to read the stories, click on the link to the Autumn Festival website here. ...

Surgery Waiting Lists - why you don't want to rely on the Public Health System

We recently received a very interesting link to an article in News Hub regarding the long waiting lists New Zealanders are experiencing if they require surgery in public hospitals. This really does prove that having medical insurance gives you access to Specialists and private hospitals when you need it - not when you can be fitted in. Here are some stats - or read the article for the full report. 110,000 Kiwis on official waiting lists About 174,000 Kiwis need elective surgery but are not on a ...

The Cost of Procrastination

I had a call from a prospective client on our first day back at work this year. He asked if it was still possible to put the cover in place that we had first discussed nearly two years before as he needed to make sure that his family were financially taken care of as he had just been diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer and was unlikely to survive twelve months. It is really hard to have to say no; it is too late. You question yourself as to why we had not pushed a little harder followin...

Financial Stress and Risk Mitigation

FINANCIAL STRESS AND RISK MITIGATION A lot has been said and written on this topic. Bankers, DNZ representatives, fertilizer representatives and all associated with the dairy farming industry have been briefed on this matter. Some of the key issues that I see to reduce stress are as follows : The Banks budget should not be your budget! They are bulk money lenders and if there is heaps of security they may well lend when it is obvious your debt is too high to effectively service the debt. Do ...

Business Succession

Most business owners in New Zealand have plans in place as to how they will exit the business upon retirement or when it is time to sell and move on to something new. Unfortunately the same cannot be said for owners faced with a situation bought about by the sudden death or disability of a shareholder or shareholders. Unplanned succession is all too common and can leave surviving shareholders and families in a very vulnerable position. A recent article in the Sunday Star Times business news is ...

Why do I need a will?

By Jocelyn Cooney (Principal) Cooney Law Having a Will ensures that things that matter to you will be taken care of if you die. A Will sets out your wishes so that your assets go to the people to whom you wish them to go. What happens if I die without a Will? The Administration Act sets out how your assets will be distributed if you do not leave a Will. This could be very different to what you actually want. If you die leaving a partner (marriage or civil union) but no parents or children,...

Waipa Business Awards 2015

Congratulations to Jono and Paula McCullough of Rob May Builders for taking out the Excellence in Business – Large Business Award and the coveted Supreme Winner 2015 at the recent Waipa Business Awards. We are proud to be associated with this award winning business and delighted to be able to share this exciting moment with Jono and Paula at the gala awards dinner. www.robmay.builders...

An Interesting Article on Terminal Illness claims

Terminal Illness benefit is attached to most life insurance contracts and it provides an early payment of the life cover if the life assured has a serious illness and is unlikely to survive for 12 months. This can be a real blessing for people who want to make sure all their affairs are sorted before they die. Read this interesting article from Stuff about the pros and cons of this benefit. Read More...

From a Cold to Cancer in Two Weeks

Read this interesting story about how one man had to deal with having a simple cold to a cancer diagnosis in the space of two weeks. Read more...