Immigrants have differing view of income protection

Focusing on the subject of people being more likely to claim – there are two parts to this:

Firstly, in the piece Partners Life managing director Naomi Ballantyne wrote for ASSET Magazine, she rightly spoke to where the insurer gets selected against by those most likely to claim as the premiums are expensive; people take the risk if they feel they have good genes; and we have ACC in place. The issues of sustainability are nuanced and will vary by insurer experience too.

The other aspect is better awareness; people today have a much better understanding of the world around them, and what insurance products can do. Also, better advice vs sales with clients will have had an impact. My clients call or email me on every medical event so that we can help with claims as soon as possible. This, too, increases claim rates.

There is also a changing landscape. The majority of my clients are immigrants or people directly descended from immigrants. Where their home country doesn’t have ACC or decent public health support, these clients know and understand the value of insurance, which has also been a significant change in the past 20 years.