Everyone likes their hard work acknowledged, and we are no exception! We are super happy to have been acknowledged by International Finance for innovation. International Finance Awards recognise international industry talent, leadership skills, industry net worth and capability. A qualified research team considers nominations, and winners are chosen based on the strength of their application and past accomplishments. So, we’re stoked to have been recognised.
The award recognises our product bundling, introduced in 2020, and our digital advice tool launched in early 2021.
Keeping things simple is a core value
When we launched the Digital Advice tool in March 2021, it was the first of its kind. Over a year later and it is still the only digital advice tool available in New Zealand
Part of the digital innovation was to bundle our products together, enabling customers to take out Life Insurance with Income Protection in one policy online. It was important to us that a bundled product would allow our customers to complete underwriting questions only once and require only one policy. Doing it this way simplifies the process, keeping things as simple as possible. We launched our combination product in late 2020. Eighteen months later, we are still the only provider with this online solution.
We believe these innovations are important because they empower our customers to make their own choices and comprehensively fulfil them. While many of our competitors advertise an instant quote and cover, most require a phone call or contact details to conclude the quote process and further contact to complete the application.
We focus on keeping things easy and uncomplicated so that our customers are confident about making the right choice about their cover. We believe confidence is key to helping kiwis from having the cover they need.
Backed up by research
Initially, our advice tool was simply the result of taking advantage of an opportunity, a regulation change allowing advice to be provided online/digitally. When we conducted research in early 2021, it highlighted how confused consumers are about life insurance—the media, word-of-mouth and unsatisfactory experience compound this trust issue. We wanted to reverse this confusion and misconception by providing accessible advice, comprehensive information, and transparent and straightforward processes.
Our solution was to provide digital advice supported with product bundling, so customers only need one price, one set of underwriting and one policy.
Sticking to our values
Our business objective is to be a leading online life insurer in New Zealand, making it easier for Kiwis to understand, buy and manage their life and living insurance needs.
The digital advice tool and our online fulfilment are crucial components to ensuring that we are providing life insurance that is:
- Suitable – the tool provides customers with qualified advice that is suitable for their situation, with no guesswork
- Accessible – because the tool is online, it is available to anyone with an internet connection and a device. All our material is in plain English, so it is simple to understand.
- Affordable – by being online, we keep our costs down. One of our values is to ensure that we pass our low costs onto our customers through affordable premiums.
Being recognised this way by internationally recognised forums gives us confidence that we’re on the right track. We will continue to invest in the technology that gives our customers confidence, provides transparency, and keeps things as simple as possible. Not to win more awards but so that our customers get some tangible benefit from being a customer of Pinnacle Life.
