Making an Insurance Claim in New Zealand: How our Advisers Can Help You
You did the responsible thing. You put cover in place, paid your premiums, and you got on with life.
Then something happened, and now you need your cover to work for you.
This is the moment your insurance is for. But it can also leave you facing a claims process on your own. A process that can feel complicated at a time when you have little energy to give it.
Our advisers are here to help.
What Happens When You Make an Insurance Claim?
Here’s the thing: every insurer and every product work a little differently. But helpfully, many personal insurance claims follow a similar framework.
It starts with letting your insurer know. From there you will usually complete a claim form and provide supporting information. What that looks like depends on your cover:
· A health or trauma claim may require medical records and specialist reports.
· An income protection claim may also ask for evidence of your earnings before you became unwell or injured.
· A life claim will likely involve documentation confirming death and who owns the policy.
The insurer then assesses the claim against your policy wording. If more information is needed, the insurers will come back and ask for it.
Once the assessment is complete, the insurer confirms the outcome of your claim and, where the claim is accepted, arrange payment.
Reads neatly enough on paper, right? Our experience shows it may feel a bit different when you are the one working through it.
The Claims Process can be Hard to Face at a Difficult Time:
Because it asks something of you when you may have the least to give.
And that’s not a reflection of you. It is what can happen when a system built for accuracy has demands for a person going through something hard.
You are not underprepared. You are being asked to do admin at terrible time to be doing admin.
What Does This Look Like in Real Life?
Eli is in their mid-thirties and has been off work for six weeks after a health scare. Eli has income protection sorted, but has not looked at the policy since the day it was set up a few years ago.
Now there are forms, records to track down, and a quiet question about when payments might start. All the while, Eli is still struggling with the flow-on effects of their health scare and being away from work.
Eli has done, and is doing, all the right things, but is still finding it heavy going.
What Eli needs is not more information. It is someone who already knows how the policy works, and can work for them.
How Do our Advisers Help You Through Your Insurance Claim?
If BrightNest arranged your cover, we are with you when you claim:
· We know your policy wording because we helped you choose it.
· We can talk you through what your insurer is likely to need, help you get the claim lodged properly the first time, and deal with them directly so you are not making phone calls from the couch.
In saying that, we do not decide the outcome of your claim. That sits with your insurer. What we can do is make sure your claim is put forward clearly and completely, and that you always know what is happening and why.
You are still the one making the decisions. You just do not have to work out the process on your own.
Your Adviser is Here to Help You.
If you are not sure what you currently have in place, or you would like to know who would be alongside you if you ever had to claim, we offer a free, no obligation 15 minute call. No pressure, no jargon, just a clear picture of where you stand.
Disclaimer: The characters and scenarios described are for illustrative purposes only. The content is general information and does not constitute personalised financial advice. Please speak with a licensed financial adviser for advice tailored to your circumstances. Read our Disclosure here.
