Journal · Page 9
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.
Personal Risk · 28 Apr 2026
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. He…
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Personal Risk · 26 May 2025
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 c…
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Personal Risk · 4 May 2026
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 shrin…
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Personal Risk · 23 Jul 2025
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, an…
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Personal Risk · 23 May 2026
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…
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Personal Risk · 10 Apr 2026
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 …
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KiwiSaver · 22 Apr 2026
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…
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General Insurance · 15 Sep 2025
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 Hazard…
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Retirement · 26 Aug 2025
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 base…
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Personal Risk · 20 Mar 2025
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 …
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KiwiSaver · 12 May 2026
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?…
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Retirement · 16 Jun 2026
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 i…
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KiwiSaver · 25 May 2026
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 …
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Health · 9 Mar 2025
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, th…
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Health · 25 May 2025
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 w…
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Personal Risk · 6 Feb 2026
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 matt…
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KiwiSaver · 5 Apr 2026
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 ac…
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Personal Risk · 27 May 2026
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…
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Personal Risk · 15 Nov 2025
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 amou…
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General Insurance · 3 Jan 2026
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 …
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Personal Risk · 16 Mar 2025
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…
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Personal Risk · 16 Aug 2025
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…
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Retirement · 18 Mar 2026
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…
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Personal Risk · 7 Jun 2026
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. H…
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