Chubb Life vs Partners Life NZ: Ratings, Claims and Cover Compared
Chubb Life and Partners Life are both New Zealand life insurers rated A (Excellent) by A.M. Best, but they differ in how you buy cover and how much each discloses. Chubb Life sells Life & Living online and builds Assurance Extra through an adviser; Partners Life sells everything, including Journey Plan, through an adviser only. On QuoteHub's Premium Index, indicative prices for the two insurers sit close together across the ages we checked, with the cheaper insurer varying by age band, so neither is consistently cheaper. A licensed adviser can run underwritten quotes with both against your own age, health and cover amount.
In short
- Chubb Life reported paying 96% of claims in 2024 and 95% in 2025, without publishing the underlying claim count (Chubb Life NZ, retrieved 14 August 2026).
- Partners Life paid 95% of all assessed claims, worth more than $325 million, between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025 (*This is Partners Life 2025* claims brochure, retrieved 8 September 2026).
- Both carry an A (Excellent) A.M. Best rating on the RBNZ register of licensed insurers, though only Partners Life's is dated, effective 5 February 2026 (Partners Life, retrieved 8 September 2026).
- For $500,000 of stepped Life Cover on a 55-year-old non-smoking man, Chubb Life and Partners Life both price at about $180 to $200 a month, indicative standard rates from insurers' published rate cards as at 8 September 2026 (QuoteHub's Premium Index).
Both insurers are foreign-owned and licensed here under the Reserve Bank's prudential regime. Chubb Life Insurance New Zealand Limited sits under the NYSE-listed Chubb Limited group, licensed since 12 August 2013 (RBNZ register of licensed insurers, retrieved 8 September 2026). Partners Life Limited is now owned by Dai-ichi Life Group, the Tokyo-listed Japanese insurer, which announced its acquisition of Partners Life's parent in August 2022 (Partners Life joins Global Life Insurance Giant, retrieved 8 September 2026). This sets the two against each other on rating, claims, product structure and price for three buyer profiles from QuoteHub's Premium Index; for either insurer alone, see QuoteHub's Chubb Life review and Partners Life review.
Chubb Life vs Partners Life at a glance
Chubb Life sells online and through advisers; Partners Life is adviser-only, and that single difference shapes most of the rest of this comparison.
| Chubb Life | Partners Life | |
|---|---|---|
| Licensed entity | Chubb Life Insurance New Zealand Limited, licensed 12 Aug 2013 | Partners Life Limited, licensed 3 Sep 2013 |
| Ownership | Chubb Limited, NYSE-listed | Dai-ichi Life Group, Tokyo-listed |
| Financial strength | A (Excellent), A.M. Best, date not published | A (Excellent), A.M. Best, effective 5 Feb 2026 |
| Distribution | Adviser and direct online | Adviser only |
| What it underwrites | Life, trauma, income protection, funeral cover | Life, trauma, monthly disability, private medical, TPD |
| Adviser-built flagship | Assurance Extra, nine covers | Journey Plan, modular |
| 2025 claims figure | 95% of claims paid | 95% of assessed claims paid |
How do their financial strength ratings compare?
Chubb Life and Partners Life both carry the same headline A (Excellent) A.M. Best rating, but Partners Life discloses when it was last confirmed and Chubb Life does not. Partners Life's rating is effective 5 February 2026, stable outlook (Partners Life, retrieved 8 September 2026). Chubb Life's own page states the same grade without a confirmation date (Chubb Life financial strength disclosure, retrieved 8 September 2026); that grade belongs only to Chubb Life Insurance New Zealand Limited, a different licensed entity from the general insurer Chubb Insurance New Zealand Limited, rated separately by S&P. Both sit on the RBNZ register of licensed insurers (retrieved 8 September 2026), inside the band A.M. Best treats as a strong ability to pay claims, though neither reaches the AA (Very Strong) band AIA holds from Fitch Ratings, per QuoteHub's life insurance companies overview.
How do their claims records compare?
Partners Life publishes a fuller claims picture than Chubb Life: a dollar figure, an assessed-claim basis and a defined period, against Chubb Life's headline percentages alone. Partners Life paid 95% of all assessed claims and more than $325 million between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025, including 98% of assessed private medical claims (*This is Partners Life 2025* claims brochure, retrieved 8 September 2026). Chubb Life reports paying 96% of claims in 2024 and 95% in 2025, without a claim count or dollar total behind either figure (Chubb Life NZ; 2024 claims statistics, both retrieved 14 August 2026).
| Metric | Chubb Life | Partners Life |
|---|---|---|
| Headline rate | 95% of claims paid, 2025 | 95% of assessed claims paid |
| Period covered | Calendar year 2025 | 1 Apr 2024 to 31 Mar 2025 |
| Dollar figure published | Not published | More than $325 million |
| Claim-count denominator | Not published | Published in the claims brochure |
The two rates cover different periods and Chubb Life publishes no claim count, so they are not a precise like-for-like comparison, but Partners Life clearly discloses more of the data.
Assurance Extra vs Partners Life Journey Plan
Assurance Extra and Partners Life Journey Plan sit on opposite sides of the same question: whether Life Cover carries a published ceiling. Assurance Extra is a master policy of nine covers, with Life Cover and Life Income Cover carrying no maximum from age 16 (Assurance Extra brochure, retrieved 8 September 2026). Journey Plan's Life Cover is capped at $500,000 per life insured (Partners Life Journey Plan, Life Cover overview, retrieved 8 September 2026); Partners Life's full adviser-built product, sold alongside Journey Plan, carries no such ceiling, unlimited subject to financial justification (Partners Life, retrieved 8 September 2026).
Journey Plan is Partners Life's only current packaged plan; it replaced the older Partners Protection Plan, now closed to new customers, though existing holders were not moved and can still add to it (Chatswood, 3 November 2025). Both insurers now run a capped, packaged line alongside their uncapped flagship, and the difference is distribution: Chubb's Life & Living sells online, Life Cover capped at $1.5 million and Expenses Cover paying up to two years, not to age 65 (Life & Living Insurance, retrieved 8 September 2026); Journey Plan sells through an adviser only, like the rest of Partners Life's range.
| Chubb Assurance Extra | Partners Life Journey Plan | |
|---|---|---|
| Life Cover maximum | No maximum from age 16 | $500,000 per life |
| Covers on the plan | Nine mix-and-match covers | Life, Trauma, TPD, Monthly Disability, Private Medical, Specific Injury |
| Distribution | Adviser channel | Adviser only |
| Multi-cover discount | Not published | Up to 15% |
For the full breakdown of Assurance Extra's nine covers, see QuoteHub's Chubb Assurance Extra review; for Journey Plan's caps and options, see the Partners Life Journey Plan review.
How much does life insurance cost with Chubb Life vs Partners Life?
Premiums for life insurance move with age, cover amount, gender and smoking status, and the gap between the two insurers does not run one way. On insurers' published rate cards as at 8 September 2026, stepped, occupation class 1, standard rates, indicative monthly costs for Chubb Life and Partners Life sit within a similar range at each of the profiles below, with the cheaper insurer varying by age (QuoteHub's Premium Index, full pricing methodology).
| Profile | Cover | Indicative monthly cost (Chubb Life and Partners Life) |
|---|---|---|
| 30-year-old non-smoking man | $500,000 Life Cover | About $35 to $40 |
| 40-year-old non-smoking woman | $1,000,000 Life Cover | About $60 to $70 |
| 55-year-old non-smoking man | $500,000 Life Cover | About $180 to $200 |
These are indicative, standard rates from insurers' published rate cards as at 8 September 2026, subject to underwriting; your own premium depends on your health, occupation and each insurer's assessment (see Chubb Life and Partners Life for the insurers' own published rates). The QuoteHub Premium Index tracks five more insurers on the same basis, so these two are not the only prices worth checking.
Who does each insurer suit?
Chubb Life is the only one you can buy without an adviser: Life & Living and Funeral Cover sell online, while Assurance Extra still needs an adviser to assemble (Chubb Life Insurance, retrieved 8 September 2026). Partners Life has no online quote-and-buy path at all; every product, Journey Plan included, is arranged through an adviser (Partners Life, Who we are, retrieved 8 September 2026). QuoteHub's licensed advisers work with both as part of a named panel.
Chubb Life suits a buyer who wants a price online today and needs Life Cover up to $1.5 million without bundling in private medical cover. Partners Life suits a buyer who wants life, trauma, TPD, monthly disability and private medical cover advocated for by one adviser, and is comfortable that a price means a conversation, not an instant quote. Someone with self-employment income to insure, a family history to explain, or a wish to hold trauma cover and income protection on one plan is generally better served with an adviser through either insurer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Chubb Life or Partners Life cheaper?
Neither is consistently cheaper. Indicative monthly costs for the two insurers sit within a similar band across $500,000 and $1,000,000 of stepped Life Cover at ages 30, 40 and 55, and the cheaper insurer shifts between them from one age to the next, per QuoteHub's Premium Index as at 8 September 2026. Your own premium depends on underwriting.
Can I buy Partners Life directly, without an adviser?
No. Partners Life distributes exclusively through advisers, with no online quote-and-buy tool (Who we are, retrieved 8 September 2026). Chubb Life's Life & Living and Funeral Cover can be bought online; Assurance Extra still needs an adviser.
Is Partners Protection Plan still available?
Not to new customers. It closed when Partners Life launched Journey Plan; existing holders keep their cover, but a new applicant is quoted on Journey Plan instead (Chatswood, 3 November 2025).
Which insurer has the stronger financial strength rating?
Both carry the same A (Excellent) A.M. Best rating. Partners Life publishes an effective date, 5 February 2026; Chubb Life's own page states the grade without one (Partners Life; Chubb Life, both retrieved 8 September 2026).
Does either insurer sell health insurance?
Partners Life sells Private Medical Cover as part of Journey Plan (Private Medical Cover overview, retrieved 8 September 2026). Chubb Life does not; its NZ range covers life, trauma, income protection and funeral cover only.
Talk to a Licensed Adviser
A licensed adviser can run underwritten quotes from both insurers against your actual age, health, occupation and cover need, not the standard rates above, and explain how Assurance Extra, Journey Plan and each insurer's other covers would apply to you. There is no pressure to buy anything during that conversation. Talk to a QuoteHub licensed adviser or compare cover on the life insurance hub.
References
- Chubb Life NZ
- Chubb Life financial strength disclosure
- Chubb Life Insurance
- Chubb Assurance Extra
- Chubb Life & Living Insurance
- Chubb Life 2024 claims statistics
- Partners Life solvency and financial strength
- This is Partners Life 2025 claims brochure
- Partners Life Journey Plan
- Partners Life joins Global Life Insurance Giant
- RBNZ register of licensed insurers
- Chatswood, Journey Plan and new commission structure now live
Financial advice is provided by Craig Smith Business Services Limited, trading as Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver, a licensed Financial Advice Provider (FSP712931). QuoteHub is a trading name. This article is general information, not personalised financial advice. Product features, pricing and claims data change; always check the insurer's current policy wording.
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