By KiwiCover Insurance Limited

12/26/2014 KiwiCover Insurance has developed and launched an advanced life insurance calculator which takes the guesswork out of calculating the right level of protection for Kiwis and their families.

The calculator uses proprietary modelling techniques to calculate the amount of life cover a person ought to have, based on that person’s particular circumstances and on variables drawn from real-life situations. The calculator takes into account the living circumstances of the person, whether that is family-based or living alone, and whether the person rents or owns their own home. It also takes into account dependent children, individually calculating the amount which they need by way of upkeep until each child attains the age of 18.

Alan Kelly, Managing Director of KiwiCover Insurance, said that “a unique feature of the calculator is that, for family situations, it calculates an income-based ‘dependency ratio’ for an insured person’s partner. This is then used to calculate the level of additional income supplement needed by the partner in the event of the insured person’s death, following a period of paid bereavement leave. For example, a partner who is not in paid work and who relies completely on the earnings of the insured person will have a high dependency ratio in comparison with a partner who is in a high-paying job and who could be financially self-sufficient in a much shorter period of time.”

The KiwiCover life insurance calculator is designed solely for New Zealand and takes into account KiwiSaver and student loans. It recognises that KiwiSaver becomes a liquid asset at the point of a person’s death, and it does not add on cover for the outstanding balance on a student loan as the Government automatically writes off the loan balance on death.

The calculator is far removed from the ‘pencil-and-paper’ approach of yesteryear. It does not simply take the approach of adding up a person’s liabilities and subtracting their assets, a method which is still in use by many other life insurance calculators today. In contrast it takes a person’s actual life circumstances into account and how that person’s partner, dependants and creditors would be affected financially by the person’s death, and for how long partners and dependants would need financial support.

The KiwiCover calculator does not make people calculate amounts ‘offline’ and then input them to the calculator, unlike some other life insurance calculators. “For example”, Kelly said, “the KiwiCover calculator does not ask people to separately work out what level of income their partners would need after their death and for how many years. That approach simply makes the person do the calculations themselves, so those calculators just pretend to do the job by feeding inputs back to the user.”

Also, unlike other calculators, the KiwiCover calculator does not simply produce a single number. It provides a detailed breakdown as to how the calculated sum insured is arrived at, so a person can understand the rationale behind the amount and apply their own reasoning to each component. The person can then choose to adjust that amount according to their own assessment and judgment, before they apply for cover.

Anyone can use the KiwiCover life insurance calculator at https://www.kiwicover.co.nz/life-insurance/calculator.

About KiwiCover

KiwiCover specialises in life, health, income protection, trauma and permanent disability insurance. It has developed an innovative range of online tools and information designed to help New Zealanders identify their insurance needs, to understand the complexity of products on offer and to apply for cover. KiwiCover provides a self-help, no-hassle facility for New Zealanders to access affordable, high-quality insurance.

The concept of KiwiCover is summed up perfectly in the byline Poua he Parahau. Formulated for KiwiCover by the Maori Language Commission, Poua he Parahau means “to establish a protection or a defence”. And that’s exactly what KiwiCover does. It provides financial protection for Kiwis and their families by establishing a defence against the unexpected.

For Kiwis’ peace of mind and financial security, policies arranged through KiwiCover are underwritten and issued by Sovereign Assurance Company Limited, New Zealand’s largest life insurance company. Sovereign has the highest financial strength rating of any life insurance company in New Zealand. It is part of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia Group, and is a related company of ASB Bank Limited and its subsidiaries.

For more information about KiwiCover go to: https://www.kiwicover.co.nz/