Insurance is meant to indemnify – which means it is meant to make good a gap, but not create an advantage to the insured if they are paid out.

Right now there have never been fewer advisers serving so many consumers with the need for cover, or better cover, and I think the market has plenty of growth left in it.

Most of the mainstream news media delight in telling people about when an insurer declines a claim. They love it. Insurers are just moustache-twirling financial villains in their eyes.

Recently we have examined the question of vulnerable customers and the Human Rights Commission report on vulnerable people has been central to our thinking.

With the passage of the End of Life Choice Act and the referendum result a form of assisted dying is available in New Zealand.

Two claims stories caught my eye recently that illustrate a media view of insurance - with the honourable exception of this site and some other specialist industry media.

Early concerns were that adviser business values would collapse due to the implementation of the new Financial Services Legislation Amendment Act.

Something of the ugly duckling of the insurance world, once-popular Total Permanent Disability cover (TPD) is now routinely ignored by many advisers.

The Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment is consulting on whether New Zealand should offer consumers a "data right".

Advisers love to hate bancassurance – the low or no advice process, the perceived pressure to use bank products alongside mortgage lending (whether that is real or not) and more limited products make it easy for advisers to find fault with bank offers.

As March 15 approaches you could be in either camp. Russell Hutchinson with five tips to help get you over the line. 

Russell Hutchinson looks at improved life expectancy and four areas where changes could make the numbers even better.

Russell Hutchinson gives some advice on preparing for the new regulatory regime.

Russell Hutchinson takes a whimsical look at what this kind of cover might offer.

Russell Hutchinson shows you practical, yet simple, ways you can make social media work for you without being a tech genius.