The Financial Services Council (FSC) has named the winners of its 2026 industry awards, with insurers taking five of the eight categories. The results, read together, point to three areas drawing concentrated attention across the sector: claims infrastructure, health access for underserved communities, and ESG.
Awards were presented at the FSC Awards Dinner during the FSC26 Conference: Amplify on August 13 in Auckland, sponsored by PwC New Zealand. The programme received 44 entries.
Fidelity Life won the Innovation of the Year category – sponsored by PwC New Zealand – for its Claims 3D Tool, developed with reinsurer Gen Re. The tool manages long-term disability claims assessed as non-recoverable or permanent. These cases have typically remained open and passively managed until benefit expiry – a drawn-out process for clients and the advisers supporting them.
Raffi Rassam – who has since been appointed head of claims at Fidelity Life – was described by the company as delivering claims education to advisers across New Zealand and participating in sector forums alongside insurers, reinsurers, and service partners. The Claims 3D Tool is part of a broader push by the insurer to improve how it manages clients, and by extension their advisers, through the claims journey.
The result sits within a documented sector-wide problem. The Financial Markets Authority’s (FMA) thematic review of insurer operational resilience, published July 2026, found that nearly three-quarters (74%) of respondents run legacy systems – defined as technology more than 10 years old – for core operations. Of those, 43% said more than 30% of their business functions depend on that infrastructure.
The claims dispute data makes this directly relevant to brokers. Life, health, and disability disputes accounted for 29% of the 600 cases the IFSO Scheme accepted for investigation in the year to June 30, 2025 – a 25% increase on the prior year and more than double the 285 recorded in 2022, according to the Insurance & Financial Services Ombudsman Scheme’s (IFSO Scheme) annual report. Clients who escalate disputes often do so because the claims process was slow or unclear. Insurers investing in claims technology are responding to a pressure point that sits at the centre of the adviser-client relationship.
Public Trust received a Highly Commended in the same category for a new digital system for KiwiSaver early withdrawal applications, replacing a manual process for financial hardship and serious illness withdrawals.
Medical insurance is compulsory for all RSE workers in New Zealand, with employers required to arrange cover as part of the visa process, according to Health New Zealand. The RSE scheme had a cap of 20,750 workers for the 2024-25 season, according to Immigration New Zealand – a population that requires compliant cover but sits largely outside the mainstream retail insurance market.
OrbitProtect’s RSE-specific product includes an OrbitPay Card for cashless payments at participating clinics, translated health and insurance resources in workers’ first languages, and online claims lodgement, according to the OrbitProtect website.
The programme goes further than the policy product. In 2024, OrbitProtect/nib NZ formed a collaborative team with T&G Global and Hastings Health Centre to establish an RSE satellite health clinic at T&G's Whakatu packhouse in Hawke’s Bay – the first such clinic in New Zealand, and open to all RSE workers in the region. The pilot was extended to May 2025 and is due to run again in 2026, according to Farmers Weekly’s coverage of Horticulture New Zealand’s 2025 industry awards, at which the team received the Manaaki Award.
For brokers advising horticulture or viticulture employers, mandatory RSE cover is a known requirement. The nib programme shows one insurer treating this segment as a longer-term engagement – combining a policy product with multilingual health resources and on-site care.
AIA’s 2025 Sustainability Report details the work behind both results. Its Project Forest initiative delivered a 75% reduction in paper and postage by end of 2025. A refurbishment of its Auckland headquarters reduced emissions by around 70% and cut its office footprint by 41%. On inclusion, AIA publicly released its Neurodiversity Toolkit in March 2026 and runs an employee-led Accessibility Network. The insurer covered almost 790,000 New Zealanders in 2025 and paid $790.3 million in claims, accepting 91% of all claims received, according to the report.
Westpac’s Financial Wellbeing and Inclusion Team won the Team of the Year Award, sponsored by PwC New Zealand. Westpac’s 2025 sustainability update commits the bank to delivering 40,000 financial wellbeing interactions – including financial education workshops and extra care for customers in need – between October 2024 and September 2027. Partners Life's Medical Claims Team received a Highly Commended in the same category.
Fidelity Life placed both of its Emerging Trailblazer nominees: Rassam took the win, with colleague Vincent Colombié receiving a Highly Commended – the only organisation to hold both positions in a single award category.
Gavin Quigan, former principal adviser for Restricted Managed Investment Schemes, won the Workplace Savings Award. Rob Flannagan, former independent chair, received the Chair’s Award for Services to the Industry.
FSC CEO Kirk Hope said the breadth of entries made judging difficult. “The quality of the entries and the impressive outcomes achieved made the judging process particularly challenging,” he said.
