Fidelity Life has partnered with Westpac New Zealand to introduce a new digital tool designed to help customers navigate life and income protection insurance.
Known as the LifeProtect Guide, the platform is available through the Westpac One mobile app and aims to support users in identifying suitable coverage options based on their financial and lifestyle circumstances.
The tool prompts users to input information such as income, employment status, lifestyle, and personal priorities. Based on this data, it generates tailored insurance suggestions and enables real-time premium adjustments.
Customers can explore different levels of coverage and view the impact on their costs without needing to consult an advisor initially.
Sarah Hearn, Westpac NZ’s general manager of product, sustainability and marketing, said the tool is part of the bank’s effort to make insurance more accessible.
“We know New Zealanders can be uncomfortable talking about protecting their income and life,” she said. “The LifeProtect Guide helps you to easily navigate that process – either with one of our bankers or from the comfort of your own home. The tool is intuitive and secure, giving people the confidence to make informed decisions about protecting what’s important to them.”
The LifeProtect product, issued by Fidelity Life, offers modular options across several types of cover:
Users can select combinations that reflect their personal risk profile and budget.
Fidelity Life chief commercial officer Bronwyn Kirwan said the offering was developed in response to low rates of income protection coverage in New Zealand, despite high levels of general insurance.
“Recent Financial Services Council research indicated that four out of five New Zealanders haven’t insured their income against sickness or disability. The LifeProtect Guide is intended to make it easier for customers to work out what’s right for them when it comes to protecting the things that are most important,” she said.
The launch also coincides with a marketing campaign that highlights the disparity between high insurance uptake for homes and vehicles and comparatively lower engagement with life and income protection products.
The campaign encourages customers to consider the financial risks of illness or injury, which can have long-term consequences beyond those posed by asset loss.
Hearn said the bank is looking to prompt reflection about personal risk management.
“We don’t like to think about accidents or illnesses impacting us or those close to us, but the reality is these things can happen. So, planning for the future, including how you’d manage if the unthinkable were to happen, is really important,” she said.
The introduction of the LifeProtect Guide reflects a broader trend in the financial services sector toward greater use of digital tools to improve accessibility and user experience.
Across Australia and New Zealand, financial firms are investing in new technologies, including artificial intelligence, to drive innovation in customer engagement.
Data from Snowflake and the Enterprise Strategy Group indicated that 32% of ANZ firms are allocating over a quarter of their technology budgets to generative AI – outpacing the global average. A large proportion are focusing these efforts on customer-facing applications.
The LifeProtect Guide fits into this evolving landscape as insurers and banks seek to improve digital offerings while addressing coverage gaps in the personal insurance market.
