A review of Chubb’s Critical Illness Insurance (Trauma Cover) in New Zealand

Chubb Life Insurance - a brief company overview

“Our life insurance cover will let you live your life to the fullest.”

Chubb Life provides insurance products specifically tailored towards the Kiwi lifestyle and the company is “committed to being there for our customers when they need us most.”

Chubb’s commitment to offering dependable insurance solutions ensures that you and your family receive all the help you need during challenging times. Their responsive team deals with every claim with the same urgency and care, staying true to the company’s goals of providing clear communication and attention to detail, so you feel very well looked after indeed.

Policywise works with the full suite of Chubb Life products, including critical illness, life, income protection, complete disablement, mortgage repayment, group, and business cover. In this Chubb review, we’ll look at their critical illness cover in more detail.

Chubb Life Trauma (Critical Illness) Insurance: Features and benefits

Each year, over 9,000 New Zealanders are affected by stroke; 25-30% of stroke patients are below 65 years old. More than 25,000 New Zealanders are diagnosed with cancer every year.

Trauma insurance provides a lump sum partial or full benefit payment to the policyholder for a policy-defined illness or condition, such as the above. Trauma insurance provides a multitude of benefits, easing the financial stress of long-term illnesses and life-altering injuries. Here are some key advantages to consider:

1. Cover options up to $2,000,000 

Chubb’s Trauma Cover provides a substantial cash benefit, ensuring you have a strong financial safety net. This sizeable sum offers peace of mind when you need it most.

2. PROTECTION FOR A WIDE RANGE OF CRITICAL ILLNESSES AND CONDITIONS 

Chubb’s Trauma Cover encompasses a comprehensive list of over 30 critical illnesses and conditions, including:

• Cancer
• Stroke
• Heart attack
• Blindness
• Loss of hearing or speech
• Brain tumour
• Alzheimer’s disease
• Motor neurone disease
• Coma
• Heart valve replacement
• Open heart surgery
• Major organ transplant
• Paralysis
• Loss of limbs
• Severe burns
• HIV (medically and occupationally acquired)
• Severe rheumatoid arthritis
• Severe inflammatory bowel disease
• Adult insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.

3. FLEXIBILITY IN UTILISING THE LUMP SUM PAYOUT 

One of the primary advantages of Chubb’s Trauma Insurance is the flexible usage of your lump sum payout. This adaptability means the funds can meet your specific needs, such as covering immediate expenses, repaying debts, or investing in alternative treatments.

4. ENTRY AGE OF 16-70 YEARS     

The minimum age to apply for Chubb Trauma Insurance is 16, so young people may be covered early in life. The maximum age for admission is 70, allowing near-retirees and retirees to access the benefits of this insurance in their ‘golden years’.

5. TRAUMA COVER CAN BE STAND-ALONE OR ACCELERATED

• Chubb’s Trauma Cover may be 'accelerated’ against your Chubb Life Cover, allowing you to use your Chubb life insurance policy for critical illness. This scenario deducts your trauma cover payouts from your life cover amount insured.
• Alternatively, you can opt for a stand-alone policy to separate your trauma insurance claims from your life cover.

6. DIAGNOSIS BENEFIT

For a covered condition, Chubb’s Diagnosis Benefit could pay 25% of your trauma cover total insured early, up to $75,000. This reduces your trauma cover amount insured. You may receive the remaining amount insured if you qualify for the full trauma benefit for the covered condition, for example, the disease systemic sclerosis.

7. LIFE EVENTS BENEFIT    

The Life Events Benefit applies to life-altering occurrences, such as marriage, children, rises in income, and property acquisitions, allowing you to increase your sum insured by up to $250,000 without a health assessment. Increased trauma cover cannot exceed 75% of the initial total covered. The benefit must be applied for within 180 days after the event or within 60 days after the anniversary date. This benefit ends when you turn 60.

8. COMPLIMENTARY CHILDREN’S BENEFIT  

This benefit pays up to $50,000 if your dependant child develops a policy-defined illness for the first time. It doesn't cover congenital diseases or conditions diagnosed before adoption or guardianship.

Talk to a Policywise adviser to learn more about other covered conditions and full and partial benefits, and discuss if Chubb Critical Illness is the right insurance option for your needs.

Please Note: Terms and conditions, as well as exclusions, apply to all Chubb 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.

Chubb offers more ways to strengthen your cover

• Chubb Life Insurance: Pays out a lump sum upon diagnosing a critical illness and in case of your untimely death, ensuring the continuation of your family's economic wellbeing during difficult times.
• Chubb Complete Disablement Cover: If you can't work due to your disability, ACC cover might not be enough for all your expenses. Needing to fund personal care or house renovations yourself could cause additional financial stress. Complete Disablement Cover offers you a lump sum payment so you can afford the extra expenses.
• Chubb Income Protection: Shields your income in the face of unexpected challenges. Chubb's Income Protection Cover replaces a portion of your payment if you cannot work due to illness or injury, ensuring financial stability.

• Chubb Mortgage Repayment Cover: You can cover up to 115% of your monthly rent or mortgage payments, plus receive financial assistance for vocational training and rehabilitation. Chubb’s Mortgage Repayment Cover offers a waiting period waiver if your disability returns within 12 months of going off-claim.
• Chubb Assurance Extra Business: Designed to help you with an easy ownership transfer, a monthly disability benefit, a business increase option, and a key person startup benefit. Chubb’s Assurance Extra Business Cover means business owners and their employees can be protected, and workplace disruptions minimised.
• Chubb Group Insurance: The benefits from group insurance can protect you and your family, as well as your business. Chubb’s Group Insurance Cover includes group personal accident and sickness insurance, group critical illness and injury insurance, expatriate insurance, inpatriate insurance, and group business travel insurance.
• Chubb Business Insurance: Covers many risks, including property damage, cyber interference, liability, accidents, and business interruption. This insurance helps companies to maintain financial stability and continuity in the face of unexpected challenges.

Do you need Chubb Critical Illness Insurance in New Zealand?

Chubb’s Critical Illness Insurance offers a lump sum payment if you have a policy-covered health condition or injury. Your medical care and taking time off work to heal can be financially stressful. Trauma insurance ensures an ongoing income stream to mitigate this stress, enabling you to concentrate on your treatment and rehabilitation instead of your finances.

A TRAUMA INSURANCE PAYOUT CAN BE USED IN VARIOUS WAYS, INCLUDING:

• Subsidising the lost income of the patient and their family caregiver during the recovery phase.
• Covering daily expenses, like utilities, groceries, and transportation.
• Managing and reducing existing debts, such as mortgages and credit card balances.
• Assisting with medical costs, including alternative therapies and treatments not covered by Pharmac.
• Funding home alterations or accessibility enhancements.
• Supporting rehabilitation and in-home assistance.

This is why critical illness insurance matters:

• Financial security and peace of mind: Of 2.8 million employed Kiwis in the March 2022 quarter, 44,200 were away from work for a full week because of sickness, illness, or injury. There are an estimated 5,000-6,000 hospitalisations each year due to work-related ill-health. Chubb’s Critical Illness Insurance and Disability Cover provide a strong financial backup for your family if you need to stop working temporarily or permanently.
• Debt protection: Home loan rates in New Zealand have been volatile since Covid-19 struck in 2020, rising from lows near 2% to more than 7%. Chubb’s Critical Illness Cover and Mortgage Repayment Cover can help pay debts, rents, mortgages, and loans, relieving your loved ones from the burden.
• Income replacement: The cost of living in New Zealand rose by 7.0% in the 12 months to the December 2023 quarter. Chubb’s Trauma, Disability, or Life Cover can help replace the financial input of the policyholder, enabling your family to maintain a similar lifestyle and keep paying the bills.

Policywise:  Your trusted insurance adviser

Policywise is a 100% free service which 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 critical illness 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.