If today you search for the precise words “pinnacle life insurance” via Google… what do you think you’ll see?

You’ll see Pinnacle Life’s sponsored link, obviously.

But that’s not all.  You’ll also see five New Zealand life insurance brokers and two life insurance companies advertising their wares. What they’ve done is simply to hook their adverts onto the search term “Pinnacle Life Insurance”.  So while you’re searching for Pinnacle Life, they’re busy trying to get themselves noticed.

Is this a problem?

Well, it isn’t a problem for Pinnacle Life, because Pinnacle’s online process and great pricing are unmatched in NZ so the comparison is actually to Pinnacle Life’s advantage.  Really… this is a NON-issue.  And it’s quite common practice too. 

So why are we blogging about this then? And where are we going with this?

Because around six weeks ago, Pinnacle Life was threatened with legal action by one of NZ’s larger insurance companies for daring to do the same thing. That insurance company goes by the name ‘TOWER’.  

Not wanting to pick a fight, we at Pinnacle Life pulled the sponsored link and that we thought was the end of it.

Not so.

One of the sponsored links running alongside a Pinnacle Life Insurance search today is… you guessed it… TOWER Health & Life.  

And so it was sheer indignation that has led us to write this blog.  

TOWER provided several formal arguments as to why Pinnacle Life’s actions were legally and morally wrong.  And then just weeks after making such a fuss and calling in their lawyers, TOWER go and do exactly the same thing! 

Will Pinnacle Life call in the lawyers?

Of course not.  That behaviour is more typical of your regular, old fashioned, overpriced life insurance company.       

Spotted a NZ Herald article on tips to tell if you’re dealing with a good insurance adviser. Good bread and butter article… the usual questions and answers.

Q. Should the adviser ask lots of questions about your financial circumstances? Duh… yes?

Q. Should a good insurance adviser explain what your areas of highest need are? Ahhh… yes?

And so the questions and answers flowed.  

But the best one was the last one… “Do [insurance advisers] tell you what your expectations should be…?”  

Answer:  “One of the problems in the insurance industry is that people have high expectations, and a good adviser should correct that.”

Hmmmmm. 

So if you’re one of those enthusastic consumers with high expectations about insurance services, apparently all it takes is a good adviser to nail your expectations and bring you back down to earthJ

Our advice

Avoid that expectation-killing adviser!!  Buy online. 

Ok, so today is Balloon Day in NZ. Not heard of it?  Well it’s the day of the year that the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation raise awareness of asthma and fundraise for the cause.

And as Life Insurer’s, we’re right into this because Asthma-related DEATH is one of the risks we insure people against.  Look at any life insurance application form and you’ll see a question about your history of asthma.

So is Asthma a risk? Really??

Everyone we know enjoys statistics, so here are some NZ stats (from the foundation’s website) so you can make up your own mind if Asthma is a problem:

·         New Zealand has one of the highest prevalence rates of asthma in the world.

·         15% of adults and 20% of children aged 6-14 have asthma.

·         Which means 1 in 6 New Zealanders – around 600,000 people in New Zealand, have asthma.

·         The indirect cost of asthma – including days of work lost, loss of healthy life due to disability and premature death – is around $700 million per year.

·         Severe asthma is common – up to 8% of teenagers and 10%

·         Asthma is the highest-ranking specific disease in terms of Years Lost to Disability in males, and third highest for females. 

Want more… can’t get enough stats and facts???… this is what we said last year on our blog about asthma…