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.
How a Trauma Insurance Claim Actually Gets Paid in NZ (2026): Definitions, Severity and Timing
What trauma (critical illness) cover really pays for in NZ, how the policy definition and severity threshold decide your claim, and why some payouts are partial, delayed or declined.
Read article
Income Protection When You Change Jobs or Go Self-Employed in NZ (2026): Keeping Your Cover Valid
Change jobs or go self-employed in NZ and your income protection may not work the way you expect. Here is what occupation class, pay changes, wait periods and ACC mean for keeping your cover valid.
Read article
Why Income Protection Claims Get Declined in NZ (2026): The Real Reasons and How to Avoid Them
Most income protection claims in NZ are paid. The ones that aren't usually fail for a handful of avoidable reasons — non-disclosure, definitions, exclusions, evidence and offsets. Here is each one, and how to give your claim the best chance.
Read article
Income Protection for Commission and Variable Income in NZ (2026): Proving Earnings That Move
Commission, bonuses and seasonal pay make income protection harder to get right. Here is how insurers average a moving income, why agreed value matters, and what records prove a claim.
Read article
Income Protection for Contractors in NZ 2026: Filling the Gap ACC Leaves Behind
ACC covers accidents, not illness. For NZ contractors that means no income if you get sick. Here is how income protection fills the gap and works alongside ACC CoverPlus Extra.
Read article
Indexation and CPI Increases on Income Protection in NZ (2026): Keeping Your Cover Worth Something
Every year your insurer offers a CPI increase to your income protection benefit. Here's what indexation does, what it costs, what happens if you keep declining it, and how to think about your next letter.
Read article
Income Protection for Mental Health and Stress Claims in NZ (2026): What's Covered and What's Excluded
Does income protection cover mental health, stress, anxiety or burnout in NZ? A plain guide to what insurers pay, the exclusions and sub-limits to watch, why ACC rarely helps, and how a mental-health claim is assessed.
Read article
Income Protection Occupation Classes in NZ (2026): Why Your Job Sets Your Premium and Cover
Occupation class is one of the biggest things that sets your income protection premium and terms. Here is how NZ insurers grade jobs from professional to heavy manual, why riskier work costs more, and how ACC fits in.
Read article
Income Protection Offset Clauses in NZ (2026): How ACC and Other Income Cut Your Payout
Offset (integration) clauses can quietly cut your income protection payout when ACC, sick pay or other cover already pays. Here is how they work in 2026, why ACC at 80% can leave little for the insurer, and what to check in your wording.
Read article
Income Protection vs Mortgage Protection NZ (2026): Which Actually Guards Your Home?
Income protection can be set to cover up to 115% of your mortgage; mortgage protection guards the repayment itself. Here is which one actually protects your NZ home if you cannot work.
Read article
Income Protection vs Mortgage Repayment Holiday in NZ (2026): The Trap of Relying on Your Bank Instead
A mortgage repayment holiday pauses your payments but not your debt. Here is why a repayment holiday is a deferral rather than income cover, how capitalised interest grows your loan, and how income protection actually replaces income while you recover.
Read article
Income Protection vs Savings Buffer in NZ (2026)
Should you buy income protection or self-insure with a savings buffer? This guide models the wait-period vs buffer trade-off, where each one fails, and the hybrid most Kiwis choose.
Read article
Income Protection Wait Period vs Benefit Period in NZ (2026): The Trade-off That Sets Your Premium
The wait period and the benefit period are the two levers that decide what your income protection costs. Here's how each one works, how they price your cover, and how to pick a combination that fits your savings and your situation.
Read article
Insurance Commission Clawback in NZ: Why Your Adviser May Push Back on Switching Cover
A clawback means your adviser repays part of their upfront commission if you cancel cover early — usually within two years. Here is how that window quietly shapes whether switching your policy is actually in your interest.
Read article
Insurance After Separation NZ (2026): Rebuilding Cover on One Income
When a household splits, two incomes become one and a shared insurance plan stops fitting. Here is how a NZ adviser thinks about restructuring life, income protection, trauma and health cover after a separation — without accidentally leaving yourself exposed.
Read article
Insurance Loadings and Exclusions in NZ (2025): What They Mean and Can You Get Them Removed?
A loading raises your premium; an exclusion carves out a condition. Here is what each does to your cover, what commonly triggers them in NZ, when they can be reviewed, and how an adviser shops a non-standard offer across insurers.
Read article
What Happens to KiwiSaver When You Die NZ (2026)
KiwiSaver has no beneficiary. The full balance falls into your estate, follows your will or intestacy, and over $40,000 it waits for probate. Here is how life cover closes the gap.
Read article
KiwiSaver First Home Plan NZ 2026: From Deposit to a Protected Mortgage in 12 Months
The 12-month path from your KiwiSaver balance to a first mortgage in New Zealand, including the 3-year withdrawal rule, deposit strategy, and how to protect the loan once you settle.
Read article
Level vs Stepped Premiums in NZ (2026): Which Costs Less Over the Life of Your Policy?
Stepped premiums start low and rise every year; level premiums lock in higher and stay flat. Here is how each works, when level works out cheaper, and how the crossover age decides it.
Read article
Life Insurance for Parents NZ 2026: Protecting the Family When You're Gone
How much life cover parents actually need, why the stay-at-home parent matters, who gets the money if your kids are minors, and why KiwiSaver won't be there fast.
Read article
Life Insurance Cover for a Stay-at-Home Parent in NZ (2026): Why the Unpaid Work Needs Insuring
A stay-at-home parent earns no salary but does work that costs real money to replace — childcare, household running, transport and admin. Here's why they need life and trauma cover in NZ, what their unpaid work would cost to buy in, and how much cover to consider.
Read article
Should Your Life Insurance Be Owned by a Trust in NZ? (2026)
Having a family trust own your life cover can change who controls the policy, who gets the payout, and how it sits against your estate and creditors. Here is how trust ownership works under the Trusts Act 2019, and the downsides.
Read article
Should You Index Your Life Insurance to Inflation in NZ? (2026 CPI Indexation Guide)
Most NZ life policies offer to lift your sum insured each year in line with CPI. Here is how indexation works, why fixed cover quietly shrinks, what it does to your premium, and when declining the increase makes sense.
Read article
How Life Insurance Pays Out When You Die in NZ: The Claim Process for Your Family
A plain adviser's guide to the NZ life insurance death-claim process — who notifies the insurer, the documents needed, how long it takes, and whether the money goes to the estate, a nominee or a surviving owner. Includes how funeral costs can be advanced and how an adviser runs the claim for the family.
Read articleWant this looked at for your own situation?
Book a free 30-minute review with a licensed Smiths adviser. No obligation, no sales pitch.