Insurance, KiwiSaver, and money. In plain English.
Short, useful articles from the Smiths advisers — the same notes we share with clients when something changes in the NZ market or a common question comes up.
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Who Should Own Your Life Insurance Policy in NZ? (2026 Ownership and Beneficiary Guide)
Who legally owns a life policy decides who controls it and where the payout lands. Here is how self-ownership, cross-ownership and nominated beneficiaries work in NZ, how each affects the estate and payout speed, and how to set it up so the money reaches the right person quickly.
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How Life Insurance Underwriting Works in NZ (2026): From Application to Decision
Underwriting is how a NZ insurer decides whether to offer you cover, on what terms, and at what price. Here is what insurers ask, when they request a medical or GP report, how long it takes, and how an adviser helps the result land in your favour.
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Lifestages KiwiSaver Funds NZ 2026: Should Your Fund Get Safer Automatically?
Lifestages (age-based) KiwiSaver funds de-risk you automatically as you get older. Here is when that discipline helps, when it quietly costs you growth, and how it stacks up against an advised review.
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Lifestyle Block Insurance in NZ (2026): Where Standard House Cover Stops
Insuring a lifestyle block or rural home in NZ: outbuildings and fences, water supply and effluent, fire and access risk, how Natural Hazards land cover applies to large sections, and how to set sum insured across multiple structures.
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NZ Super Living Overseas: Can You Keep Getting It Abroad? (NZ)
Most people can keep NZ Super while living overseas, but how much you receive depends on where you go. General portability pays a slice based on your NZ residence, the Pacific has its own arrangement, and Australia and other agreement countries work differently again. Here is how each path works.
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Locum Cover for NZ Health and Trade Professionals: How It Works
If you run a solo practice, locum cover funds a replacement so revenue keeps flowing while you recover. Here is how it works in NZ, and how it differs from income protection.
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Low-Fee KiwiSaver Providers in NZ: Do Cheaper Funds Win? (2026)
Simplicity (0.24%), Kernel (0.25%) and InvestNow are NZ's cheapest KiwiSaver funds. But after a decade of returns, do low fees actually win? A comparison of fees against after-fee performance.
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Lump Sum vs Dollar-Cost Averaging NZ: Invest It All at Once or Drip It In?
Got a windfall, inheritance or house-sale money to invest? The evidence usually favours investing a lump sum all at once, but drip-feeding it in can lower regret. How both work, how they apply to KiwiSaver, and how to decide.
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Market Volatility and Your KiwiSaver in NZ (2026): How to Handle the Swings
Sharp market swings are normal for a KiwiSaver fund. Here is what volatility really means, how to read the FMA risk indicator, and the calm response that protects long-term returns.
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Maternity and Pregnancy Cover in NZ Health Insurance: What's Included and the Waiting Period
What NZ health insurance does and doesn't cover for pregnancy and birth: routine antenatal care and normal delivery are usually excluded, the public system covers them for free, and a 12-month waiting period applies to pregnancy complications.
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Mental Health Cover in NZ Health Insurance (2026): What Is and Isn't Paid For
NZ health insurance does cover some mental health treatment, but usually with dollar caps, sub-limits and pre-existing exclusions. Here is what is paid, what isn't, and where ACC and the public system leave a gap.
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Will Mental Health Affect Your Life or Income Insurance Application in NZ? (2026)
Anxiety, depression or counselling on your record? Here is how NZ insurers underwrite a mental-health history, why severity and recency matter, and how to get the fairest outcome.
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Milford vs Generate KiwiSaver in NZ (2026): Two Active Managers Compared
Milford vs Generate KiwiSaver compared: fees, long-term returns, fund options and who each tends to suit, with a clear look at whether an active fee is worth paying.
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Mortgage Repayment Cover vs Income Protection in NZ (2026): The Difference That Matters at Claim Time
The bank's mortgage repayment cover protects the loan. Full income protection protects your income. Here is how they differ on benefit basis, ownership and portability — and why it matters when you claim.
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Mortgage Repayment Insurance vs Income Protection in NZ 2026: The Difference at Claim Time
Mortgage repayment insurance and income protection both pay when you cannot work, but they are calculated differently and pay different amounts. Here is how each benefit is set, what reaches you at claim time, and which protects more than just the home loan.
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The Natural Hazards Cover Cap in NZ (2026): What's Covered and Where Private Insurance Takes Over
Natural Hazards Cover (formerly EQC) in NZ: what the $300k dwelling cap pays, the land and levy rules, which hazards are covered, and where your private house insurer takes over.
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Income Protection for the Self-Employed New Parent in NZ: Protecting a New Baby and a New Business (2025)
Starting a family and a business at once stacks two financial risks on top of each other. Here is how income protection, ACC, parental leave and KiwiSaver fit together for self-employed parents in New Zealand.
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The Real Cost of a New Baby in NZ and the Cover New Parents Need
What a new baby actually costs in the first year, how paid parental leave leaves an income gap, and the life, income and KiwiSaver moves new parents commonly weigh up. 2026.
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No-Frills vs Choices Retirement in NZ (2026): What Each Lifestyle Actually Costs
No-frills and choices are NZ's two retirement lifestyle benchmarks from Massey. Here is what each costs per week (latest 2025 Massey edition, read in 2026), why provincial isn't always cheaper, and how to turn a lifestyle goal into a fundable KiwiSaver plan.
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Non-Disclosure and Life Insurance Claims in NZ (2026): What You Must Tell the Insurer
Most NZ life insurance claims are paid. The ones that aren't are usually declined for non-disclosure — something left off the application. Here is what you must tell the insurer, how the disclosure rules are changing, and how to avoid a declined claim.
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