New Zealand: Only 3 in 10 satisfied with their health & life cover
Source: Asia Insurance Review | Nov 2016
Just three in 10 respondents in an insurance satisfaction survey by Consumer New Zealand say that they feel that their health and life insurance cover is good value for money.
Outlining some issues with insurance companies, Consumer New Zealand Chief Executive Sue Chetwin told Radio NZ that price rises were often not adequately explained, complaints were not published and there was no protection for consumers in cases of innocent or accidental non-disclosure.
She said insurers should be required to provide a simple, easy-to-follow, one-page summary of core policy cover to help consumers get a fairer deal.
Insurance policies are often written in incomprehensible legalese, which she said makes it harder for customers to understand what they are signing up for, or to compare policies between companies.
At the same time, the consumer body does not regard it as fair for consumers to declare anything a “prudent insurer” would deem relevant. Ms Chetwin would like to see this onus shift to the insurer.
“Why put that on consumers? The insurers do have all of the expertise, they have all the right knowledge, if they can’t ask all of the right questions, that is their problem, not the consumer’s problem.”