A review of Partners Life Trauma Cover: Comprehensive protection for you and your family

Partners Life - a brief company overview

“We're an industry leader that Kiwis trust.”

Partners Life began as a New Zealand start-up company around a decade ago. In that short time, it’s grown to become one of New Zealand’s most trusted health, life, and business insurance providers, committed to safeguarding Kiwi families and businesses whilst bringing award-winning innovation and technology to the fore.

The company has consistently achieved the Lewers Research five-star approval rating (Lewers Survey) - a strong indication of Partners Life’s total focus on customer service.

Additionally, Partners Life’s innovative ethos, technological advancement, and excellent client service haven't gone unnoticed. The company is honoured to have received the ANZIIF Life Insurance Company of the Year award for 2022, recognising a dedication to clients and an ongoing pursuit of better solutions.

Partners Life insurance policies are only available through an approved adviser. Policywise works with the full suite of Partners Life products, including life, medical, income protection, and total and permanent disability (TPD) cover. In this review, we’ll look at their trauma cover in detail.

What is trauma insurance?

Trauma insurance (also known as critical illness insurance) pays a lump sum in the event of a policy-defined serious or potentially life-threatening condition. 

A trauma cover payout can lessen the stress and financial impact of a critical illness diagnosis, allowing the insured to: 

• reduce debt, or avoid it altogether;
• pay for utilities, groceries, transportation, and rent or mortgage; 
• fund specialised equipment, home modifications, caregiving expenses, and private medical costs - including alternative therapies and treatments not covered by Pharmac;
• create an investment fund to generate income, or enable their business to be restructured.

Another key advantage of trauma insurance is the extended cover it provides over and above what ACC (Accident Compensation Corporation) offers. ACC assists with injuries due to an accident but doesn't cover sickness, long-term illnesses like cancer, or sudden events like strokes.

Partners Life Trauma Cover: Types and benefits

Partners Life Trauma Cover pays the full sum insured for policy-defined conditions. Under their broadest trauma insurance plan, there are 48+ covered conditions, including: 

• Cancer
• Cardiomyopathy
• Chronic kidney, liver, or lung failure
• Cognitive impairment
• Diabetes
• Heart attack
• Alzheimer’s disease
• Blindness
• Loss of cognitive function
• Loss of limbs  
• Paralysis
• Parkinson’s disease
• Severe inflammatory bowel disease
• Severe rheumatoid arthritis
• Stroke
• Terminal illness
• Total and permanent disability.

Partners Life offers three critical illness cover options

These plans vary according to conditions covered and premium costs. The options are:

• Trauma Cover - includes more health conditions and is thus more expensive.
• Moderate Trauma Cover - covers mostly the same conditions as Trauma Cover but requires the insured to be at a more serious stage for some of them.
• Severe Trauma Cover - has lower premiums and covers fewer medical issues for conditions that gravely impact one’s life and income-earning capacity. It can be combined with Trauma Cover to provide higher benefits.

You can also choose between Accelerated Trauma Cover (in the event of a claim, all or part of your Partners Life Life Cover is paid out); or Standalone Trauma Cover (which pays a lump sum that does not reduce any other cover).

Premium review options

Partners Life offers several premium review periods. Note that options may vary depending on your selected trauma cover plan.

• Yearly stepped - your premium is calculated based on your sum insured and age; increases yearly.
• Level to age 65, 70, and 80 non-guaranteed - your premium remains fixed until your selected age.
• 5% stepped, 10-year guaranteed - premiums increase by 5% every year during the 10-year period.

Benefits

Depending on your chosen Partners Life Trauma Insurance plan, you will receive some or most of the benefits listed below.

Partners Life optional add-on benefits

Depending on your elected trauma cover plan, you may have the option to choose one or all of the optional benefits below to enhance your cover.

• Future insurability: You can increase your sum insured yearly for ten years, without medical underwriting, to a maximum of 10% of the original amount.
• Trauma buy-back: Allows the repurchase of your trauma cover within 60 days following the 12 months from the date the claim was paid.
• Life cover buy-back: Allows the reinstatement of your life cover after being reduced by your accelerated trauma cover claim, following the 12 months (six months for certain conditions) from the date the claim was paid.

Please note: Terms and conditions, as well as exclusions, apply to all Partners 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.

Partners Life offers more ways to strengthen your cover

• Partners Life Income Protection: The Partners Life range of policies includes Income Cover, Income and Expenses Cover, Mortgage Repayment Cover, and Household Expenses Cover. These products safeguard your ability to receive an income, offering monthly payouts if you are unable to work due to illness or injury.
• Partners Life Total and Permanent Disability Cover: Ensures financial support if you become permanently unable to return to work due to severe illness or injury.
• Partners Life Medical Cover: Partners Life recognises the strengths of New Zealand's public healthcare system but understands its limitations. Private Medical Cover offers quick access and a choice of treatment in the private medical sector, ensuring prompt and personalised care.
• Partners Life Specific Condition Cover and Hospital Cash Cover: Exclusive to Partners Life, these products take a specialised approach, providing a defined amount of money to cover specific health events or certain medical treatments. This includes payouts for accidents like breaking a bone. 
• Partners Life Life Cover: Offers financial security to beneficiaries in case of the policyholder's death. It provides a lump sum payment to support loved ones by covering outstanding debts, rents, or mortgages, and providing for future expenses.

Do you need Partners Life Trauma Cover in New Zealand?

Modern medicine has achieved significant advances in the treatment of serious diseases and injuries. Survival rates have increased as a result - although the consequential costs of medical care and time off work can be financially stressful.

Here’s why Partners Life trauma 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. Partners Life 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%. Partners Life Critical Illness Cover and Mortgage Repayment Cover can help pay your rent, mortgage, debts, 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. Partners Life 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: Simplifying insurance for you

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 trauma cover 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.