Why Life Insurance Should Be a Key Part of Your Financial Plan

As we step into 2025, many Kiwis are setting their New Year's goals—a time to reflect on the past year and plan for the future. Financial planning is key to securing a stable future for yourself and your loved ones. While it’s important to focus on savings, investing, and budgeting throughout the year, the start of a new year is a perfect opportunity to review and reset your financial goals. One crucial element that is often overlooked in financial planning is life insurance. Life insurance should be part of your financial planning to protect your loved ones and provide a safety net.

Why should you make a financial plan? 
Financial planning gives you the opportunity to step back and gain a clearer understanding of your spending habits. There are many components to a financial plan, and it typically begins with cashflow management - assessing where your money is going, identifying areas where you might be overspending, and finding ways to manage your expenses.

The next step often involves creating a budget. Once you have a clear picture of your spending, you can adjust your habits and set boundaries where necessary. Understanding your cashflow first helps you avoid over-restriction, ensuring that your budget is realistic and sustainable.

Once you’ve mastered the basics, the exciting part begins. You can set meaningful financial goals, make plans, and track your progress. Whether it's assessing your readiness for retirement, planning a vacation, making a large purchase like a car, or paying down your mortgage faster, a solid financial plan sets you on the path to achieving your goals.

Why life insurance matters in financial planning 
In New Zealand, financial planning often revolves around managing mortgage repayments, covering everyday living costs such as groceries, utilities, and education, and planning for future goals like supporting children’s education or saving for retirement. These financial goals are closely aligned with life insurance.

At its core, life insurance is about financial security. It’s a service that offers peace of mind, knowing that your loved ones will be financially protected if you're no longer around. Its primary purpose is to provide the financial security that would otherwise be lost if you were to become terminally ill or pass away. While it is a long-term strategy—one you hope you never need—the security it brings to your financial plan is invaluable.

How to put your Life Insurance into action. 

Pinnacle Life makes sorting life insurance simple, affordable and accessible. 

1. Get a quote - Start by getting a quote with our online quote tool. 
2. Adjust your cover - In the quote tool, you can adjust your cover easily so your premium payment fits your budget. 
3. Apply - Once you’re happy with your quote, you can continue to apply online or via phone. This will take about 10 minutes and involves a few health and lifestyle questions. 
4. Follow-up & cover - After you’ve answered questions, we may need to follow-up with you, if this is the case we’ll let you know. If we have everything we need from your application, we’ll be able to cover you immediately.  
5. Add extra protection - You can enhance your plan with critical conditions and disability cover. Our online advice tool can help you understand what cover you should get and how much, depending on your personal finances.

Life Insurance as part of your plan. 
Life insurance may not be for everyone, but everyone should consider it as part of their financial plan in case the unexpected happens. If you’ve been putting it off, now is the time to act. Start by getting an online quote or speaking with a Pinnacle team member. We’re here to make the process simple and transparent, ensuring your loved ones are protected. Don’t leave your financial plan incomplete.