Buying Insurance Online or from Banks can be a BAD idea!
It might seem convenient and you don’t need to talk to anyone, but there are some serious drawbacks and if the policy ends up not covering you when you thought it would, then you’ve just wasted all your money… and worse still, you haven’t got the protection when you most need it. Death claims may not be paid, lump sum payments for critical illness get declined, or cover for your income is denied… all because you were not given the right advise or the policy itself was a cut down version of the real thing.
In other words… All insurance is NOT created equal!!!
At first glance many online insurances or bank policies can appear to be very similar to those offered by proper financial advisors who use the “full cover” type policies available with the better Insurance Providers.
However, with most online or bank offerings you get what you pay for. Generally speaking you receive less coverage (Often SIGNIFICANTLY LESS) for your money and far less benefits. For instance, a quality Trauma benefit such as those offered by Asteron, PartnersLife or Fidelity (to name but a few) will cover you for 40-50 trauma conditions, whereas Pinnacle Life only offers coverage for the 4 (yes, four) most common trauma conditions; cancer, stroke, heart attack, and heart bypass surgery.
Banks like BNZ and Westpac also offer insurance for Trauma/Critical Illness and Income Protection insurances… But these are seriously cut down products compared to whats available via an Advisor. And ironically cut priced Bank products are often priced similar or more than the full cover policies available from the main insurance providers.
Banks and Online insurance sales have NO LEGAL RESPONSIBILITY to make sure you are properly protected. While a Registered Financial Adviser like all those at Assetwise ARE legally required to give you BEST ADVICE, by Law.
BANKS are QFE’s (Qualified Financial Entities) so have NO responsibility to look after your needs. In a nutshell, a bank employee can sell you any crappy policy they like and they are protected under the Financial Advisers Act because they work for the bank and the bank is a QFE so the employee does not have to give you best advice.
Reality check… Medical, Trauma, Income Protection or Disability Insurance are extremely complicated and trying to work out which policy is best for your personal situation or what level of cover is required is a minefield without professional advice. This is where a financial adviser really starts to prove their worth. Advisers are there to assess your situation and find the best protection plan which works for you.
Not only that, but an insurance adviser comes in to bat for you come claim time. Should you find yourself in a situation where you may need to make a claim, an adviser will go through the process for you, taking away an extra responsibility during a time of stress.
So before you decide to buy your insurance online, think about the benefits that you’d be losing. Not only will you miss out on better insurance coverage, but you lose the advice and expertise, as well as a helping hand at claim time. You can only get that from a superb insurance adviser, like the team we have here at Assetwise.
Book Your Insurance Review
To book a review just fill out the details in the form below and we will be more than happy to get in touch to lock in an exact time and date that suits.
