A review of Chubb Income Protection Insurance in New Zealand

Chubb Life Insurance - a brief company overview

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

One hundred years of keeping New Zealanders financially secure in times of stress is no small feat, but it’s a service that Chubb Life NZ has down pat.

Known historically as the world's largest publicly traded property and casualty insurer, Chubb continues to forge ahead after purchasing century-old Cigna NZ in 2022. Chubb now offers top-notch protection and savings-oriented life insurance products to individuals and groups, coupled with a claim service branded as sheer “craftsmanship”.

That’s because Chubb knows insurance isn’t generic; it’s personal. It’s about the things that matter most to you – your family and loved ones, their future. Chubb’s 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 products, including life, critical illness, complete disablement, mortgage repayment, group, and business cover. In this review, we’ll look at Chubb Life Income Protection in more detail.

What is income protection?

Income protection insurance provides financial support if you suffer a policy-defined illness or injury and cannot work. It offers a monthly payment that replaces a portion of your lost income, allowing you to maintain financial commitments, such as bills, mortgages, rents, and living expenses. For those supporting loved ones, this cover offers reassurance that your family’s financial needs will continue to be met.

While ACC (Accident Compensation Corporation) covers a portion of lost income in certain cases, it might only encompass some scenarios, leaving potential gaps. Income protection helps bridge these gaps, ensuring comprehensive financial security beyond what ACC offers. 

For help in comparing income protection plans and determining the best option for your family, contact Policywise; it’s fast and it’s free.

Chubb Life Income Protection Insurance: Features and benefits

Chubb offers robust and adaptable insurance products that safeguard you and your family during difficult circumstances. One integral product is income protection, designed to ensure financial stability when an injury or illness disrupts your ability to work. 

Your chosen plan, occupation, and income determine your monthly sum insured. This amount may be based on your agreed value, monthly sum insured less offsets, or up to 75% of your pre-disability income less offsets. Offsets only include your earnings from work, other income sources, and benefits you may get due to your disability. Offsets exclude your sick leave benefits and welfare payments.

Here’s an overview of what’s covered:

1. Total Disability: This benefit provides a monthly income to compensate if you are unable to work due to a policy-defined illness or injury. Payments commence at the end of the waiting period.
2. Partial Disability: If you return to work on a reduced income after a disability and earn less than 75% of your usual income, this benefit ensures you don't suffer financially.
3. Bed Confinement: If you are confined in a hospital or bedridden for more than three consecutive nights, this benefit pays a specified amount for each night, continuing until the end of your waiting period or until you are no longer bed-confined.
4. Vocational Retraining and Rehabilitation: In cases of total or partial disability, this benefit pays the lesser cost of your retraining or rehabilitation expenses or 24 times the monthly insured sum.
5. Recovery Support: If you need specialised equipment, such as a wheelchair or home and car modifications, to aid your recovery, this benefit reimburses you for the lesser costs of your equipment or six times the monthly insured sum.
6. Return to Work: If you return to full-time work or self-employment after receiving Total Disability benefits for more than 12 consecutive months or Vocational Training and Rehabilitation benefits, this provides additional payments after three and six months of continuous employment.
7. Total and Permanent Disability Benefit: This benefit pays a one-off lump sum for 12 times the monthly sum insured if you meet the policy-defined conditions for total and permanent disability. 
8. Child Care Assistance: Parents recovering from an accident or illness often face additional childcare expenses. This benefit covers the lesser of childcare costs or $800 per child per month for children under 14.
9. Emergency Transportation: In the case of total or partial disability where emergency transport is deemed necessary by a medical practitioner, this benefit covers the lesser of emergency transport expenses or up to three times the monthly insured sum.
10. Recurrent Disability Benefit: If you are disabled from the same sickness or injury within a year of the first claim ending, you won't have to wait again before getting benefits. Your claim will be considered as a continuation of the original one.
11. Increasing Income Benefit: You can boost the monthly amount you're insured for by the rise in your income, up to ten percent each year. This increase can't be more than double your original monthly cover amount. To qualify, you should be under 55, and apply within 90 days of your income going up or within 60 days after the anniversary of the increase.
12. Special Care Benefit: This benefit provides an additional payment if you require full-time home care due to a total disability.

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 Life offers more ways to boost your cover

• Chubb Critical Illness Insurance: Offers a lump sum payment upon diagnosis of a policy-defined critical illness, ensuring you can focus on recovery without worrying about your finances.
• Chubb Life Insurance: Pays out a lump sum upon diagnosing a critical illness, and in the 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. Needing to fund personal care or house modifications yourself could cause additional financial stress. Complete Disablement Cover offers you a lump sum payment so you can afford the extra expenses.
• Chubb Mortgage Repayment Cover: You can choose up to 115% of your monthly rent or mortgage payments, plus financial assistance for vocational training and rehabilitation. This benefit also includes a waiver of your waiting period if your disability returns within 12 months of going off-claim, and a wide range of additional benefits.
• Chubb Assurance Extra Business: This is designed to help you with an easy business ownership transfer, a monthly disability benefit, a business increase option, and a key person startup benefit. Business owners and their key employees can be protected and workplace disruptions minimised.
• Chubb Group Insurance: Protect your employees and their families. 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 Life Income Cover in New Zealand?

Your ability to earn an income is one of your most valuable assets, and the risk of losing it due to unforeseen circumstances, such as illness or injury, is real. Income protection insurance acts as a reliable safety net if you can’t work. It means your expenses can be managed while you focus on recovering without worrying about your family's welfare or your standard of living. 

While New Zealand’s Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) will cover you for accidental injury, it does not offer income replacement cover for illnesses, such as cancer, or sudden events, such as heart attack or stroke. 

Here's why you should consider including income protection in your financial plans:

1. Financial security: 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 Life Income Protection, Critical Illness Insurance, and Disability Cover provide a strong financial backup for your family if you need to stop working, temporarily or permanently.
2. Lifestyle maintenance: The costs of educating your child at tertiary level in New Zealand can range from $20,000 to $40,000+ per year.  Chubb’s Income Protection Insurance preserves your lifestyle by covering essential expenses such as education costs, bills, and daily expenditures, preventing a significant downturn in your standard of living.
3. Peace of mind: From June 2022 to May 2023, Kiwis sustained approximately 35,805 injuries resulting in more than a week away from work. More than 989,003 home-based injuries were reported to ACC (Accident Compensation Corporation) in 2023.  ACC offers some cover for accidents but it might not be enough for all expenses. Chubb’s Income Protection Cover ensures your loved ones are financially secure while you are off work, and offers invaluable peace of mind.
4. 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, Income Protection, 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. 
5. 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 Income Protection, Critical Illness, and Mortgage Repayment Cover can help pay debts, rents, mortgages, and loans, relieving your loved ones from the burden.
6. Long-term financial support: Unlike short-term options, income protection offers sustained financial assistance throughout your recovery or disability. You can opt to receive monthly benefits for 2 years, 5 years, or until you’re 65 or 70.
7. Affordability: Chubb Life Income Protection comes at reasonable premiums, often tax deductible, making it an accessible and valuable investment.

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 income protection 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.

Disclaimer: All information on this page or website is general information only, not intended as advice, and does not take into consideration your personal circumstances. We recommend consulting a Policywise adviser before making any insurance decision.

Please note: Policywise advisers are licensed by the Financial Markets Authority to provide financial advice in relation to health insurance, life insurance, and disability insurance. You can learn more about this on our Public Disclosure page. All insurance covers are subject to the insurer’s approval of your application. 

Insurance policies and their built-in and optional benefits may be subject to stand-down periods, exclusions, terms and conditions, and premium loadings not listed on this website. Optional benefits also have additional premiums. Please refer to the insurance product’s policy document for full details. Insurers may alter these details at any time. 

Therefore, nothing in our product pages is intended to be definitive or binding. Where there are discrepancies between any policy wording on this website and the policy wording provided by the insurance company at the time your cover is approved, then the insurance company’s wording will be deemed the correct version.