“We’re back” - Fidelity Life sends strong message to advisers as it unveils new digital, product, service and retention initiatives.

Media release

25 September 2023

New Zealand's largest locally owned and operated life insurer Fidelity Life has marked its 50^th year by unveiling a broad suite of new digital, service, product and retention initiatives and a renewed commitment to the adviser channel.

The announcements were a feature of its flagship Engage conferences, attended by over 250 advisers in Auckland and Christchurch earlier this month, and are aimed at helping advisers take their careers and their businesses to the next level.  

Fidelity Life Chief Sales and Service Officer Bronwyn Kirwan says that, after successfully concluding a number of pivotal transformation projects, the company is poised to re-launch and re-define its market position and double-down on its strong history with advisers.  

“In 2023 we’re celebrating 50 years of homegrown success and it’s the perfect time to reflect on the fact that advisers have been at the heart of it all. Recognising that financial advice leads to better outcomes, we’re getting back in the game and renewing our commitment to the adviser channel. 

“Nobody knows advisers better than Fidelity Life. We’ve listened carefully to their feedback, directly and through our Adviser council, and we’re taking action in the key areas we’ve heard we need to be better. Starting at Engage and across the coming year or so, we’re rolling out some exciting initiatives across four key areas that advisers have told us are most important to them: ease of doing business, protecting and valuing in-force customers, propositions, and solutions. 

“We hope advisers will find it easier to do business with us through new digital tools such as our market leading Live chat, a dedicated Adviser service team, a number of requested product enhancements and new tools to help them protect and retain their business. And from early 2024 we’ll roll out the first iteration of our new-look E-App and launch our amazing new Adviser edge careers and professional development programme. 

“Backed by a culture that heroes advisers and an even greater passion for long term outcomes, we hope our adviser partners will be encouraged by these announcements. The power of financial advice and insurance protection, combined with our community and environment commitments, mean together, we can continue making a real and lasting difference to New Zealand and New Zealanders,” concludes Bronwyn.  

Summary of Fidelity Life’s key initiatives announced at Engage: 

Ease of doing business – lifting advisers’ digital experience and service offering.  

Live chat - quick and easy access to our New Business and Underwriting teams now live via Adviser Centre.
New-look E-App – a modern an intuitive user experience from March 2024.
Dedicated adviser service team - now available, a team committed to servicing all adviser needs,
Working together - a comprehensive guide covering everything you need to know to do business with Fidelity Life, coming soon.
Signatureless forms - the need for some signatures has been removed and acceptance of digital signatures has been extended.
Transparent turnaround times – shortly we’ll be publishing our turnaround times for new and existing business queries on Adviser hub.

Protect and value – enhanced retention tools to help advisers retain and grow their valuable business and keep more New Zealanders appropriately insured.  

Renewal reminders - copies of your customers’ renewal letters for Tahi policies.
Keeping customers covered - automated SMS reminders and outbound calls to customers in arears.
Online masterclass – coming in November: the latest in lapse data and trends and how behavioural science can support customer conservation.

Propositions – product enhancements requested by advisers to better meet customers’ needs.  

Monthly mortgage repayment - cover benefit percentages to increase from 110% to 115% of mortgage repayments and 40% to 45% of income, to better reflect the high cost of living.  
Special events and Future insurability - new Special event triggers to be added as reasons for optional cover increases such as buying investment property, land, holiday home, co-signing a child’s mortgage or supporting a child with fulltime tertiary study. Some exclusions for Special events and Future insurability (i.e., for customers with loadings or special terms) will also be removed to enable customers' better access to these benefits.   
Key person new to business and Key person for farmers - monthly cover limits will be increased from $4,000 to $6,500 for Key person new to business and from $5,000 to $9,000 for Key person for farmers covers to acknowledge increasing labour costs. 
Repatriation benefit - available on all inforce and new on-sale retail life covers, the newly added benefit will be on top of the life cover sum insured and will be accessible to repatriate a body home from and to New Zealand.  
Trauma stand-down period - the stand-down period will be adjusted to start on the date of application submission, not completion of underwriting, to acknowledge pressures within the healthcare system which can cause underwriting delays.

Solutions - our industry leading advice careers and professional mastery programme for financial advisers specialising in life risk. 