Chubb Life New Zealand, which rebranded from Cigna NZ in March, has introduced a new product and a New Zealand-first initiative to help advisers grow their businesses by protecting more customers.
Launched during the nationwide Chubb Connect event on June 23, the new offerings include an SME product that completes the insurer’s product range. Simon Tohill (pictured), general manager for strategy and marketing at Chubb Life NZ, provided the product update.
“One of the fundamental principles we have is that we want to partner with you and work alongside you to help more New Zealanders get the insurance they need,” Tohill told advisers in Auckland while livestreamed out to the regional venues in Hamilton, Tauranga, Napier, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin, as well as online.
According to the strategy and marketing general manager, Chubb Life NZ wanted to develop a product that meets the needs of the market and fulfills the promises that advisers are making to their customers. He said that the company has done that with the help of adviser feedback.
“We’ve really tried to keep things simple and make things really effective, rather than develop complex solutions and confuse customers or have things that change over time,” Tohill said. “The first thing we’ve done is complete our product range with a launch of a revamped business product.
“It’s called Assurance Extra Business. It’s been designed to cover people that run the small to medium businesses up and down the country and that are the engine room of our economy. There’s a huge market opportunity out there.”
In New Zealand, small businesses represent 97% of all firms.
“Our goal is to help business owners and their teams protect their life’s work from disruption by maintaining business continuity,” Tohill said. “So, the first thing we’ve looked to do is simplify our product offering in this space – insurance easy to understand and it has a clear set of benefits.
“What we’ve done initially is consolidate our existing three products into one multi-purpose product and then look to bring that up to speed to the market.”
Features of Assurance Extra Business include an ownership transfer benefit that allows cover to stay in place even amid a change in ownership, a customisable monthly disability benefit, and a business increase option.
As with all Chubb Life NZ products, advisers will have to complete the accreditation module to be able to offer Assurance Extra Business to their clients. Tohill said advisers will be provided all the detailed information they need on June 26, with a significant programme planned over the next five months. The accreditation sessions will be conducted both in person and online.
One of the other things that were unveiled during Chubb Connect was the company’s 10% lifetime discount, which was described as a first in New Zealand.
“We’re looking, like many insurers, as to how do we recognise and reward customers who come to us with strong indicators of healthy lifestyles,” Tohill told attendees. “We want to develop something that’s simple and easy to understand. It gives both you and your customers certainty and it doesn’t change over time. So, I’m really pleased to announce our new 10% lifetime reward.
“From Monday, we’ll be offering this 10% lifetime discount for new customers who when they take out a policy with us have a healthy BMI measurement of between 18.5 and 24.9, they are non-smokers, and they have no medical loadings or exclusions. We wanted to make something that would really have a strong impact for you and your customers.
“So, we looked back at our business over the last 12 months, and pleasingly a third of our customers would have qualified for this discount, which is really exciting for us and tells us it can have a meaningful impact in the marketplace. The other thing I’d really emphasize is that customers who qualify for this discount will keep it for the life of their policy – it won’t change, it won’t drop off.”
Aside from the new lifetime discount, Chubb Life NZ has also enhanced its multi-benefit discount offer across the Assurance Extra product range.
“What we want to do is create opportunities for you to provide more options to more people and ensure New Zealanders are able to get the cover they need,” Tohill said. “They don’t have to make choices about benefits; we want to try and make it more affordable.”
The insurer also revealed that it is extending its Two Months’ Free campaign until the end of September, following positive feedback from advisers and policyholders.
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