Monday, February 25, 2013

Study: New Zealanders heavily under insured.

 "A two-year Massey University study has shown New Zealanders are under-insured by $650 billion.

Lives were under-insured by $195.609 billion, permanent disability protection was lacking by $351.827 billion and income protection was under insured by $2.966 billion per month.

About 2000 respondents filled out an online survey that asked questions about their insurance cover, perceived needs and their reasons for not having more insurance.The research found most New Zealand families had high levels of vulnerability to medium or long-term disability as a result of underinsurance. 

FSC chief executive Peter Neilson said the research highlighted serious financial risks
More than half the respondents said they were suspicious of insurance companies and 43% found insurance jargon difficult. About 60% thought finding personal risk insurance was too hard.

Particularly among younger respondents, there was a view that it was too difficult to know what level of insurance was needed.

Others thought Government assistance would cover them in the event of an accident or illness that kept them off work.

But almost half said having the right level of cover was important to them."

- Taken from an article by Susan Edmunds (Original Article Here)

This article made the news quite a bit last week, and for good reason. The numbers themselves ($650 billion in total! That is nine times the entire national debt as of 25/2/2013!) reflect a profound disconnect between New Zealanders and their insurance needs. The survey itself shows that a lack of knowledge and the demands of finding insurance is a critical factor in so many New Zealanders being under insured.

We are glad this issue is getting some national exposure, because it highlights what we have been seeing internally for some time; that when things go wrong, the real financial needs of people are not managed due to inadequate cover and they find themselves in dire straits that could have been avoided.

Our business specialises in taking the difficulty out of securing insurance that actually meets your real life needs and doesn't leave you under insured or bearing unreasonable costs. If you are one of those 60% who are finding insurance difficult to attain, we have the experience to take the stress out of your hands and make sure you are not one of these unfortunate statistics, and that you have financial peace of mind if tragedy strikes.







2 comments:

  1. This post really contains a vital information that makes us understand the problem of insurance in New Zealand. It's very informative. Referring such information might be very beneficial.
    Study in New Zealand

    ReplyDelete