Asteron Life's history of insuring New Zealanders spans 143 years and the company has been an integral part of the Kiwi community for the duration. Although the name has changed - you might have known them as Royal and Sun Alliance - Asteron’s commitment to their core values remains steadfast. As 2023 winner of the Life Insurance Company of the Year accolade at New Zealand’s Insurance Industry Awards, Asteron has every right to be proud of the contribution it makes to the life insurance landscape of New Zealand.
Asteron Life Insurance provides a lump sum payout on the death of the life insured, helping cover funeral costs, living expenses, your children’s education and childcare costs, debts, rents or mortgages, and other financial obligations after losing an income earner in the family.
Learn more about different types of insurance from a licenced financial adviser and see what's best for your circumstances.
Health | Life | Trauma | Total and Permanent Disability | Income Protection
Asteron Life Insurance - a brief company overview
“We’re in this for life.”
Asteron Life provides insurance products specifically tailored towards the Kiwi lifestyle and aims “to help build bright futures and protect what matters most.”
Asteron Life is backed by Suncorp New Zealand, a prominent player in the general and life insurance sector. Suncorp New Zealand is part of Suncorp Group, with more than 9 million customers and over A$96 billion in assets - a reassuring promise of Asteron's financial stability (rated A+ by Standard & Poor’s) when you need to make a claim. The Asteron claims team has successfully had 94% of claims accepted, providing $121 million to customers from 1 July 2022 to 31 June 2023.
Recently, Suncorp Group and Resolution Life Australasia entered into an agreement for the purchase of Asteron Life. Resolution Life Australasia, a part of the global life insurance company Resolution Life, currently serves about 1.1 million customers in Australia and New Zealand. The company has around NZ$1.7 billion in-force premiums and NZ$30.4 billion in assets under management. The sale is currently undergoing regulatory approval.
Policywise works with the full suite of Asteron Life products, including trauma, income protection, total and permanent disablement, group, and business cover. In this Asteron Life review, we’ll look at their life insurance plans in more detail.
What is life insurance?
Here’s how life insurance works: You take out a life insurance policy through an insurance company and pay a cost, called a premium, on a regular basis. In return, if you pass away, your insurance company will pay the full sum insured to the policy beneficiaries, providing them with a financial cushion. It's like saying, "Even if I'm not around, I've got your back."
If you have any questions or want help finding the right life insurance policy, book a callback with a Policywise adviser; it's fast and free.
Asteron Life Insurance: Types, features and benefits
Asteron Life offers two distinct life cover plans: Life Cover and Accidental Death Insurance. Each is designed to cater to different circumstances, ensuring the right protection for your requirements.
1. Life Cover: Safeguarding your family's future
Asteron’s Life Cover supplies a lump sum payout in the event of your passing away or terminal illness diagnosis.
|
BUILT-IN BENEFITS |
HOW IT HELPS |
| Death Benefit | Ensures your family’s financial security by paying out a lump sum if you pass away |
| Financial Planning and Legal Advice Benefit | Pays up to $2,500 towards professional advice on how to best utilise your payment |
| Grief Support Benefit | Offers up to $2,500 for professional grief counselling within 12 months of payment of your claim |
| Funeral Advancement Benefit | Advances either $15,000 or $25,000 from your Life Cover to pay for funeral expenses |
| Funeral Conversion Benefit | Up to $30,000 of your Life Cover amount can be converted to a level premium funeral benefit |
| Terminal Illness Benefit | Access your lump sum payment immediately if diagnosed with a terminal illness that gives you less than 12 months to live, and use it for your medical care and other expenses |
| Terminal Specific Condition Advancement | Offers an advance payment of a portion of your Life Cover sum on diagnosis of a specified condition or if you have less than 24 months to live |
| Repatriation Benefit | Reimburses up to $15,000 or $25,000 of the direct costs of bringing the insured person’s remains to their home country if they pass away overseas |
| Special Events Increase Benefit | Gives you the option to increase your cover up to $30,000 without medical underwriting when a special event occurs, such as a new mortgage, pay rise, or property purchase |
| Special Events Conversion Benefit | Allows you to take out total and permanent disablement or trauma cover when a special event occurs, such as a new mortgage, pay rise, or property purchase, without further medical underwriting |
| Inflation Adjustment Benefit | Increases your sum insured in line with the rate of inflation without medical underwriting |
2. Accidental Death Insurance: Shielding against the unforeseen
Asteron Life's Accidental Death Insurance provides a lump sum payout if you pass away due to an accident. This policy offers fewer benefits but is still a practical and worthwhile consideration.
| BENEFITS | HOW IT HELPS |
| Death Benefit | Pays a lump sum if you pass away due to an accident, ensuring your beneficiaries have funds to pay for funeral costs as well as regular expenses, like rent or mortgage, education, childcare, and debt payments |
| Financial Planning Benefit | Pays up to $2,500 towards professional advice on how to best utilise your payment |
| Grief Counselling Benefit | Offers up to $2,500 for professional grief counselling |
Optional benefits that you can add to your policy
You can choose to include a range of optional benefits or add-ons with your insurance plan to ensure you are covering everything you need.
| BENEFITS | HOW IT HELPS |
| Needlestick Benefit (Life Cover) | For medical and emergency workers who contract Hepatitis B or C or HIV from a work-related needlestick injury |
| Specific Injury Support (Life Cover and Accidental Death) | Receive a lump sum payment if you suffer from a policy-defined injury, including paralysis and fractures. You still get paid even if you can keep working |
| ‘We Pay Your Premiums’ Benefit (Life Cover and Accidental Death) | If you're sick or injured and can't work your regular job for more than 10 hours a week, Asteron Life will cover your premiums |
| Free Kids Cover (Life Cover and Accidental Death) | Offers free trauma insurance up to $50,000 per child or grandchild. Can be boosted up to $200,000 |
| Terminal Illness Support (Life Cover) | If you have less than 24 months to live, you can receive a lump sum payment without affecting your Life Cover |
Please note: Terms and conditions, as well as exclusions, apply to all Asteron Life products. It's important to review your policy carefully to understand the specific terms of cover, benefits, and any limitations. This ensures that you have a clear understanding of the protection provided by each product. If you have any questions or would like some help finding the right policy, book a callback with a Policywise adviser; it's fast and free.
Asteron Life offers more ways to strengthen your cover
- Asteron Life Trauma Recovery Insurance: Offers a lump sum payment upon diagnosis of one of the many conditions defined under the policy wording, helping you cover medical expenses, debts, or any necessary lifestyle adjustments.
- Asteron Life Income Protection Insurance: This pays out up to 75% of your income if you cannot work due to illness or injury. It offers regular payments to help you meet financial commitments, such as bills, rent or mortgage, and daily living expenses.
- Asteron Life Total and Permanent Disablement Insurance: Offers a lump sum payment to help you cover living expenses, rent or mortgage, and other debts, plus rehabilitation and lifestyle modifications if you suffer a complete and permanent disability that prevents you from working.
- Asteron Life Group/Employee Insurance: Enables business owners to provide life, trauma, disability, or income protection cover as part of their employees’ benefits.
- Asteron Life Business and Rural Insurance: Designed to protect your business if you or a key person in your organisation cannot work due to illness or injury. Provides funds to cover ongoing business expenses, hire temporary staff, or support the business during a challenging period.
Get your personalised Asteron Life Insurance quote
Life's journey isn't a cookie-cutter experience; your insurance shouldn't be either. Asteron Life allows you to tailor your cover to suit your specific needs.
Policywise’s advisers can help you determine how much life insurance you really need, get life cover costs, and pick a plan that works best for you. Book a callback or request a quote today; it's fast and free.
Do you need Asteron Life Insurance in New Zealand?
Asteron Life offers your family financial protection and a safety net in the case of death, injury, or sudden illness. Life insurance is a promise to secure your loved ones' future. Here's why it matters:
- Financial security: A New Zealander dies of coronary heart disease every 90 minutes. Asteron’s Life Cover provides a strong financial backup for your family on the death of the life assured.
- Debt protection: Asteron’s Life Insurance can help pay debts, rents, mortgages, and loans, relieving your loved ones of the burden. Asteron’s Mortgage and Living Insurance also offers support to help the family keep your home.
- Income replacement: The cost of living in New Zealand is at an all-time high. Asteron’s Life Cover or Income Protection Cover can help replace the income of the insured, enabling your family to maintain a similar lifestyle to that if the life assured had continued working until retirement.
- Education support: Sending your child to university in New Zealand can cost between $20,000 to $27,000+ per year. With Asteron’s Life Cover, you can ensure your children's education continues uninterrupted, regardless of the situation.
- Funeral costs: In New Zealand, the average funeral costs $10,000, but only 5% of Kiwis have planned financially for theirs. With Asteron’s Life Cover, you can feel at ease knowing that unexpected expenses, like funerals, will not burden your loved ones.
- Peace of mind: The knowledge that your family will be financially secure even after you are gone is priceless.
Policywise: your partner in making wise insurance decisions
Policywise is a 100% free service that tells you which health, life, and disability insurance provider best fits your needs. We offer fast, comprehensive, and easy-to-understand comparisons of all leading providers, and a simple summary clearly recommending which insurer is best for your situation.
Not all insurance policies are the same. Policywise can help you sort out the duds, avoid the lemons, understand the fine print and exclusions, and get the right insurance for you and your family.
We make the important decision of where to buy your insurance super easy. We’ll answer your questions, provide experienced advice, quotes, and comparisons, and manage all the back and forth throughout the application process. Taking out your cover through us means you'll have our lifetime support and claims advocacy, and we'll help you negotiate a positive outcome at claim time. We can also take care of lodging any claims on your behalf and back you up if the going gets tough.
Check out the reviews on our homepage for how other New Zealanders have found our service, because now is the time to get your life insurance sorted. Give your family or someone you love the most outstanding financial support possible. Book a 5-minute callback with Policywise today; our service is fast and free.