Personal risk & life insurance
How life, trauma, income protection, TPD and mortgage cover actually work in New Zealand — what each one pays, where the wording matters, and how the pieces fit together for a household.
24 Dec 2025 · 13 min read
ACC for Casual, Part-Time and Multiple-Job Workers in NZ (2026): How Weekly Compensation Is Worked Out
How ACC works out weekly compensation for casual, part-time and multiple-job workers in NZ: irregular income is averaged over the year, two-job rules, minimums, the first-week stand-down, and where income protection fills the gap.
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ACC CoverPlus Extra in NZ: How to Set Your Cover Amount, Levies and Claim Right
A working guide to ACC CoverPlus Extra for self-employed Kiwis: how agreed cover removes the proof-of-income fight, how levies are worked out, how the first week and part-time return are handled, and the mistakes to avoid.
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ACC CoverPlus Extra in the First Year of Self-Employment (NZ)
In your first year self-employed you have no income history, so default ACC CoverPlus can pay you almost nothing if you are injured. Here is why CoverPlus Extra fixes that, and how provisional levies and the year-one wash-up work.
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ACC CoverPlus Extra Levies in NZ (2026): How They're Calculated and How to Lower Them Legally
ACC CoverPlus Extra levies come from your classification unit, your chosen cover level and a couple of flat levies stacked on top. Here is how each part is worked out, why your invoice can include a wash-up, and the legitimate ways to bring the bill down.
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ACC CoverPlus Extra Levy Classes Explained for the Self-Employed (NZ)
Your ACC classification unit (CU) is the code that sets your Work levy, and a wrong one can quietly cost you for years. Here is how CUs work, how to check yours, and how it ties into CoverPlus Extra.
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ACC CoverPlus Extra vs Income Protection for the Self-Employed in NZ (2026): Do You Need Both?
ACC CoverPlus Extra covers injury only. Income protection covers illness too. Here is where the line falls, whether the self-employed need both, and how the two coordinate without paying twice.
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ACC CoverPlus vs CoverPlus Extra for the Self-Employed: Which Should You Choose in 2026? (NZ)
CoverPlus pays up to 80% of your last declared earnings and makes you prove your loss at claim time. CoverPlus Extra pays 100% of an agreed amount with no proof needed. Here is how to choose in 2026.
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Why ACC Is Not Income Protection NZ (2026): Five Limits to Know
ACC is accident cover, not an income plan. Here are the five limits, illness, the 80% cap, the stand-down and more, that catch Kiwis out, and what private income protection fixes.
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ACC and Pre-Existing Conditions in NZ (2026): When a Gradual or Degenerative Problem Isn't Covered
ACC covers injury by accident, not conditions that build up gradually. Here is how ACC decides injury versus gradual process, why degenerative and age-related problems are usually declined, and how income protection fills the gap.
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ACC for Shareholder-Employees in NZ (2026): PAYE, CoverPlus Extra and Common Mistakes
How ACC works for NZ shareholder-employees: PAYE vs non-PAYE, why CoverPlus Extra pays 100% of an agreed amount, the 2026 invoice changes, and the structuring mistakes to avoid.
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ACC Treatment Injury Cover NZ (2025): Surgical Mishaps and Where Income Cover Steps In
ACC treatment injury cover in NZ: what surgical and medical harm is covered, what's excluded, how weekly compensation works, and where income protection fills the gap on a long recovery.
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ACC Weekly Compensation Cap 2026 (NZ): The $2,418 Ceiling for High Earners
ACC caps weekly compensation at $2,418.55 from 1 July 2025. Above roughly $157,000 of income, even a covered accident leaves a high earner short. Here is the income band where it bites, and how to close it.
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Agreed Value vs Indemnity Income Protection in NZ (2026): The Edge Cases That Change Your Payout
Agreed value locks your benefit in when you buy. Indemnity re-tests your income at claim time. Here are the edge cases — pay rises, income drops, part-time — that change what each one actually pays.
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Agreed Value vs Indemnity Income Protection for the Self-Employed (NZ)
If your income jumps around, how the benefit is calculated decides what you actually get paid. Agreed value vs indemnity income protection for self-employed New Zealanders, and what's available now.
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Bank Mortgage Protection Insurance NZ 2026: What the Bank Sells You at Settlement
What the bank offers you at settlement, how it differs from adviser-arranged life and income cover, and how the two compare on advice, terms, portability and ownership.
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Business Overheads Cover in NZ: Keeping the Doors Open if You're Off Sick
Income protection covers your wage, not your rent and leases. Here is how business overheads cover works in NZ, what it pays, the tax rules, and how it sits alongside ACC.
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Co-Owning a Home With Friends or Family in NZ 2026: Protecting the Mortgage When You Buy Together
Buy a house with friends or family and each co-borrower is liable for the whole mortgage, not just their share. Here is how joint tenancy and tenants in common differ, what happens to the loan when a co-owner dies, and how life cover can fund a buy-out.
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Decreasing vs Level Life Cover for Your Mortgage in NZ (2026): Which Actually Protects You?
Decreasing cover tracks your loan down and costs less; level cover stays flat and leaves a surplus for your family. Here is the real trade-off, why bank cover usually decreases, and how to size it.
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Do You Need Income Protection if You Have Life and Trauma Cover in NZ? (2026)
Already have life and trauma cover? Here is how income protection, trauma and life cover layer together in NZ, why a lump sum is not the same as income replacement, and what to prioritise on a budget.
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Health Insurance vs Trauma vs Income Protection: Which First in NZ (2026)
Can only afford one type of cover? Here is how health insurance, trauma cover and income protection compare in NZ in 2026, and the priority order most Kiwis should buy in.
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How to Structure Life Insurance NZ (2026): What an Adviser Does That DIY Misses
Two people with the same $500,000 sum insured can have completely different policies. Here is how a NZ adviser structures life cover — ownership, beneficiaries, level vs stepped, and splitting by purpose — and where DIY goes wrong.
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How Much ACC CoverPlus Extra Cover Should You Choose? NZ 2026 Guide
Your CPX agreed value sets your payout. Here are the 2026 cover bands, why the minimum often falls short, and how to match cover to your real self-employed income.
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How Much Life Insurance Do You Actually Need in NZ? (2026 Sum-Insured Calculation)
A real NZ method to size your life insurance sum insured — debts to clear, income to replace, children's costs and final expenses, minus existing cover, KiwiSaver and ACC. This is what an adviser's needs analysis actually does, and why 'ten times your salary' falls short.
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How Much Trauma Cover Do You Need in NZ? (2026 Sum-Insured Method)
A real NZ method to size your trauma cover — treatment and non-Pharmac drugs, income while you recover, mortgage breathing room and extra costs added into one sum insured.
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