Cover Built Around Variable Income.
No sick leave, no employer KiwiSaver match, and income that doesn't arrive in neat fortnightly amounts — self-employed advice starts from your actual cashflow, not a payslip.
When your income moves around
Standard insurance calculators are usually built around a payslip: a fixed salary, paid fortnightly, with tax already taken out. Self-employed income rarely looks like that — it can swing month to month, get paid in irregular lump sums, or sit partly retained in a company rather than drawn as personal income. None of that is a problem, but it does mean the numbers behind your cover need to be worked out properly rather than assumed.
For example, a contractor who had a strong year followed by a quieter one usually needs their cover based on a realistic, sustainable earning figure — not just whatever the most recent tax return happens to show — so the payout actually matches what their household needs to keep going.
ACC and income protection aren't the same thing
ACC covers you for accidents, but not for illness — including most major illnesses and mental health conditions that stop you from working. If you're self-employed, there's no employer sick leave sitting behind you either. Private income protection is designed to sit alongside ACC rather than duplicate it: it can cover the illness gap ACC leaves open, and can be structured (for example through ACC's CoverPlus Extra option) so your level of cover is agreed upfront rather than reassessed against a bad year after the fact.
KiwiSaver when you're self-employed
If you're self-employed, nobody automatically enrols you in KiwiSaver, and there's no employer matching your contributions the way there would be as an employee — it's entirely on you to set up regular contributions or add lump sums when cashflow allows. That's not a reason to skip it: it just means your contribution strategy needs to be a deliberate decision rather than something that happens automatically in the background of your pay.
What to bring to a review
A free review runs faster, and the numbers are more accurate, if you've got these on hand:
- A rough sense of your average income over the last year or two, not just your best month.
- Details of any existing life, trauma or income protection cover, and your ACC CoverPlus type.
- Your KiwiSaver provider and current balance, if you're not sure, that's fine too.
- Whether you operate as a sole trader or through a company, and any business debts or overheads that would need covering if you couldn't work.
This is general information, not personal advice. For the fuller write-up on self-employed advice, see the full self-employed guide, or book a free review with Craig, Guy or Henry to talk through your own numbers.
Talk to the team.
Book a free review with Craig, Guy or Henry. No fees, and we're there if you ever need to claim.