Partners Life

Adviser-only, and the one New Zealand insurer writing life, trauma, income and private medical cover on a single plan. Owned by Dai-ichi Life.

Reviewed by Henry Smith, Financial Adviser (FSP1010699). Updated 17 September 2026.

Who owns and underwrites Partners Life

QuoteHub’s read. Partners Life is adviser-only, rated A (Excellent) by A.M. Best and owned by Dai-ichi Life, and the one New Zealand insurer that puts life, trauma, income and private medical cover on a single plan with up to 15% off for holding several; its heaviest trauma conditions carry a 90-day stand-down that runs from the day it receives your application.

Partners Life reviewed

Reviewed and updated 17 September 2026 by Henry Smith, Financial Adviser (FSP1010699), for the QuoteHub adviser team. The tables above are register records; this section is our read of them.

Verdict (2026)

Partners Life is the strongest fit for a family that wants life, trauma, income and private medical cover from one underwriter, arranged by an adviser. Its rating carries an effective date, which most rivals do not publish, and its annual claims brochure breaks payments down by product, cause and age. It is the wrong fit if you want to buy online, because there is no direct route at all. Feature detail is not published either, so what you actually get depends on the wording your adviser puts in front of you.

Pros and cons

Claims record: 95% of assessed claims, with its denominator

Partners Life's most recent published claims figures come from its own claims brochure. It paid 95% of all assessed claims and more than $325 million in claims between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025. That contributed to more than $1.6 billion paid since its 2011 launch, across a book of more than 340,000 clients. Source: Partners Life key claims statistics brochure, read 18 August 2026.

The brochure breaks the year down by product. All figures below cover 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025.

By age, the largest shares went to clients aged 40 to 49 at $102.0 million and 50 to 59 at $92.7 million, with $68.0 million paid to clients aged 60 and over. Source: Partners Life claims brochure, read 18 August 2026. That is consistent with the peak earning and peak obligation years for most New Zealanders.

Two features of this record are worth noting. The high accident-and-injury share of Income Cover claims, at 42%, is a reminder that income cover responds to both accident and illness. Illness, which ACC does not cover, accounts for most of the remainder. Partners Life also operates a Customer Outcomes Review Committee, which reviews complaints and investigates claims declined because of incorrect or non-disclosed information.

Published claims percentages are not comparable between insurers, because each picks its own denominator and period:

• Partners Life: 95% of all assessed claims, April 2024 to March 2025
• Asteron Life: 97% of trauma, life and income protection claims received, July 2023 to June 2024
• Fidelity Life: 93% of all new claims, July 2024 to June 2025
• AIA New Zealand: 92% of all claims received, calendar 2024

Making a claim with Partners Life

Claims do not have to go through an adviser, although your adviser can help. Private Medical claims can be submitted through Partners Life's online claim service. All other claim types are lodged by completing the relevant form and emailing it with supporting documents to [email protected]. The claims team is on 0800 145 433, weekdays 8.30am to 5pm. Source: Partners Life claims page, read 18 August 2026.

Exclusions and things to note

Every point below comes from a named Partners Life page or document, with the date we read it. The policy wording governs any claim, not this page.

• There is no direct purchase route. Partners Life sells through advisers, and its website's path is "find an adviser". Source: Who we are, read 18 August 2026.
• The 95% figure counts assessed claims, over 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025, not every claim lodged. Source: claims brochure, read 18 August 2026.
• Partners Life publishes why claims are declined. The brochure lists recovery within the waiting period, conditions that do not meet the policy definition, and non-disclosure. Source: claims brochure, read 18 August 2026.
• Only Private Medical claims can be lodged online. Every other claim type needs the relevant form emailed with supporting documents. Source: claims page, read 18 August 2026.
• Waiting periods, benefit maxima, entry and expiry ages, and agreed value versus indemnity options are not published. They sit in the policy wording. Source: Partners Life products, read 18 August 2026.
• Solvency figures are published as a graphic, not as text, so this review does not quote them. Source: solvency and financial strength page, read 14 August 2026.
• The completion date of the Dai-ichi purchase is not published, only the announcement. Source: Partners Life announcement, read 18 August 2026.
• A declined claim can be reconsidered. The Customer Outcomes Review Committee reviews complaints and investigates claims declined for incorrect or non-disclosed information. Source: claims brochure, read 18 August 2026.

Where Partners Life sits with QuoteHub

Partners Life is one of the insurers on QuoteHub's advice panel. It appears in the list of providers on our disclosure page alongside AIA, Fidelity Life, Chubb Life, Asteron Life, Momentum Life, nib and Southern Cross. 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. Henry Smith is a Financial Adviser (FSP1010699). Details of how our advisers are paid are on the disclosure page.

That relationship means QuoteHub advisers can arrange Partners Life cover. It does not change anything in this review, which is built from Partners Life's own documents, the agency's published rating action and the Reserve Bank's register.

Limitations of this review

This review is built only from public documents. It states no premium figures, because pricing depends on your age, health, occupation, smoking status and cover structure. Three gaps are recorded rather than guessed: the completion date of the Dai-ichi acquisition, the solvency figures, which are published as a graphic rather than text, and feature-level product detail such as waiting periods, benefit maxima and entry ages. Details were current at the dates shown and change without notice. The policy wording, not this page, governs any claim. Ratings were last re-verified against the RBNZ register and Partners Life's own disclosure, and QuoteHub re-verifies published ratings quarterly.

References

• Partners Life, Solvency and financial strength, read 14 August 2026 (A (Excellent) rating effective 5 February 2026, Stable Outlook, solvency disclosure at 31 March 2026)
• Partners Life, Who we are, read 18 August 2026 (2011 start-up, New Zealand operated, adviser partnerships, no direct purchase route)
• Partners Life, This is Partners Life 2025 key claims statistics brochure, read 18 August 2026 (95% of assessed claims, $325m+ paid April 2024 to March 2025, $1.6b+ since 2011, product, cause and age breakdowns, the review committee, decline reasons)
• Partners Life, Claims, read 18 August 2026 (lodgement channels, [email protected], 0800 145 433)
• Partners Life, Products, read 18 August 2026 (current product list)
• Partners Life, Complaints process, read 8 September 2026 (external dispute resolution through the Insurance and Financial Services Ombudsman)
• Partners Life, Partners Life joins global life insurance giant, read 18 August 2026 (Dai-ichi acquisition of 100% of Partners Group Holdings, circa NZ$1b valuation)
• A.M. Best, AM Best affirms credit ratings of Partners Life Limited, 5 February 2026, read 18 August 2026 (FSR A (Excellent), Long-Term ICR "a", stable outlook, Dai-ichi rating enhancement)
• A.M. Best, Guide to Best's financial strength ratings, read 18 August 2026 (rating scale definitions)
• Reserve Bank of New Zealand, Register of licensed insurers, read 18 August 2026 (licence date and rating agency and grade for Partners Life, AIA, Asteron, Fidelity Life, Chubb Life)

Disclaimer: This article is general information only and does not constitute personalised financial advice. 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. Insurance products are subject to underwriting, and terms, conditions, exclusions and stand-down periods apply. Features and figures were current at the dates above and are subject to change, so always check the current policy wording. For advice tailored to your circumstances, talk to a licensed financial adviser.

Partners Life at a glance

What Partners Life writes

Is Partners Life a fit for you?

The reasons to shortlist it, and the catches to check first. Every line below is read from a Partners Life document, linked with the date.

Check these before you choose

• Want cover types combined on one policy. The Partners Life Journey Plan lets you add or remove Life, Trauma, Private Medical, Monthly Disability and other covers on one plan, with up to 15% off eligible premiums when you hold multiple covers. (source, Partners Life – Life Cover Overview (document footer: PLJP_OVERVIEW_LIFE COVER_V03_1025), read 16 September 2026)
• Want money released before the estate is settled. The Bereavement Support Benefit pays the lesser of $25,000 or the sum insured immediately on notification of death, to cover costs before the rest of the life policy proceeds are released. (source, Partners Life – Life Cover Overview (document footer: PLJP_OVERVIEW_LIFE COVER_V03_1025), read 16 September 2026)
• Want private surgery without the public wait. The Surgical Benefit pays up to $600,000 a policy year for surgery in an approved private hospital, including up to $25,000 of non-Pharmac-subsidised drugs for eligible claims. (source, Partners Life – Private Medical Cover Overview (PLJP_OVERVIEW_PRIVATE MEDICAL COVER_V02_1025-digi; current live version, supersedes the V01 file at the originally supplied URL), read 16 September 2026)
• Want income cover that flexes with a mortgage. Mortgage Repayment Cover pays the greater of 45% of monthly income or your actual mortgage repayment, up to a combined $8,000 a month with Household Expenses Cover. (source, Partners Life – Monthly Disability Cover Overview (PLJP_OVERVIEW_MONTHLY DISABILITY_V02_1025; Partners Life's income-cover product, linked from partnerslife.co.nz/monthly-disability-cover), read 16 September 2026)

Partners Life could fit

If one or more of these look like your situation.

• Want a new baby covered automatically. Children born while you hold Private Medical Cover are automatically covered free of charge for the first six months after birth. (source, Partners Life – Private Medical Cover Overview (PLJP_OVERVIEW_PRIVATE MEDICAL COVER_V02_1025-digi; current live version, supersedes the V01 file at the originally supplied URL), read 16 September 2026)
• Want trauma cover that includes the kids. The Child's Trauma Cover Benefit pays up to $50,000 if your dependent child (aged 4 months to 21) suffers a Covered Condition, and it can convert to their own policy without medical assessment. (source, Partners Life – Trauma Cover Overview (PLJP_OVERVIEW_TRAUMA_V02_1025), read 16 September 2026)
• Want cover to grow with income, without new underwriting. The Future Insurability Option lets you increase your sum insured by up to 10% of the original amount every year for up to 10 years, without further health assessment. (source, Partners Life – Life Cover Overview (document footer: PLJP_OVERVIEW_LIFE COVER_V03_1025), read 16 September 2026)
• Want a premium discount and a lighter claim. The Payment Term Restriction Option on Monthly Disability Cover discounts the premium by 10% in exchange for capping payment to one year for conditions that are 'predominantly self-reported rather than medically evidenced'. (source, Partners Life – Monthly Disability Cover Overview (PLJP_OVERVIEW_MONTHLY DISABILITY_V02_1025; Partners Life's income-cover product, linked from partnerslife.co.nz/monthly-disability-cover), read 16 September 2026)

Compare more carefully

If any of these apply, it is worth a closer look at the rest of the panel.

• Claiming for cancer, heart attack or stroke under Trauma Cover. Conditions marked ** — including Cancer, Heart Attack, Stroke, Angioplasty and Coronary Artery Surgery — require a 90-day stand-down period starting from when Partners Life receives your application. (source, Partners Life – Trauma Cover Overview (PLJP_OVERVIEW_TRAUMA_V02_1025), read 16 September 2026)
• Wanting the TPD option inside Trauma Cover. The Total and Permanent Disability Covered Condition Option only pays out on an own-occupation basis, and is only available for occupation classes 1-4. (source, Partners Life – Trauma Cover Overview (PLJP_OVERVIEW_TRAUMA_V02_1025), read 16 September 2026)
• Rebuilding cover after a trauma claim. Under the Trauma Cover Buy-Back Options, previously claimed Covered Conditions may be permanently excluded and stand-down periods may apply again. (source, Partners Life – Trauma Cover Overview (PLJP_OVERVIEW_TRAUMA_V02_1025), read 16 September 2026)
• Choosing an excess on Private Medical Cover. You must choose a base-plan excess from $0, $250, $500, $1,000, $2,000, $5,000 or $10,000 — it applies per life assured and affects benefits such as the Surgical and Private Hospital Benefits. (source, Partners Life – Private Medical Cover Overview (PLJP_OVERVIEW_PRIVATE MEDICAL COVER_V02_1025-digi; current live version, supersedes the V01 file at the originally supplied URL), read 16 September 2026)

Waiting periods, limits and ages

The numbers worth checking before you compare, read from Partners Life’s own documents.

Life cover: 30% advance, up to $600,000

The Terminal Illness Advance Benefit pays 30% of your Life Cover sum insured, up to $600,000, early for specific listed conditions or a 24-month terminal prognosis.

• Life Cover Benefit: pays 100% of your sum insured on death.
• Terminal Illness Benefit: pays a lump sum if you're diagnosed as likely to pass away within the next 12 months.
• Non-Survivable Accident Benefit: pays a lump sum if you're diagnosed as unlikely to survive longer than three months as an immediate, direct result of an accident.
• Terminal Illness Advance Benefit: pays 30% of your sum insured, up to $600,000, for listed conditions (e.g. Motor Neurone Disease, Stage 4 Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer) or any terminal prognosis of 24 months or less.
• Bereavement Support Benefit: pays the lesser of $25,000 or your sum insured, immediately on notification of death, ahead of the full claim being settled.
• Dependent Child Funeral Support Benefit: pays $2,000 (before age 10) or $15,000 (age 10 to 21) in addition to the sum insured, on the death of a dependent child.
• Repatriation Benefit: pays up to 25% of your sum insured, to a maximum of $20,000, in addition to the sum insured.
• Financial and Legal Advice Benefit up to $3,000; Counselling Benefit up to $2,500; Return to Home Benefit up to $10,000 — all paid in addition to the sum insured.
• Special Events Increase Benefit: increase your sum insured without further health assessment, capped at the lesser of $300,000 per increase, the actual increase in your mortgage, or 5 times your annual salary or business-profit increase.
• Future Insurability Option: increase your sum insured by up to 10% of the original amount every policy anniversary, for up to 10 years, without further assessment.
• Minimum cover from $1,000 upwards. Multi-benefit discount: up to 15% off eligible premiums when you hold multiple Partners Life covers.
• Advance payments before the full claim: Bereavement Support Benefit: lesser of $25,000 or sum insured, paid immediately on notification of death, Terminal Illness Advance Benefit: 30% of sum insured (up to $600,000) for specific listed conditions or a 24-month terminal prognosis, Terminal Illness Benefit: full lump sum once given a 12-month prognosis
• The Special Events Severe Trauma Conversion Benefit — converting part of Life Cover to Severe Trauma Cover Accelerated — can only be used once.

Source: Partners Life – Life Cover Overview (document footer: PLJP_OVERVIEW_LIFE COVER_V03_1025), read 16 September 2026.

Trauma cover: 90-day stand-down on major conditions

Higher-risk Covered Conditions — cancer, heart attack, stroke, angioplasty and coronary artery surgery among them — require a 90-day stand-down period that starts from when Partners Life receives your application.

• Covered Conditions pay 100% of the sum insured; conditions marked * (e.g. Alzheimer's, Dementia, Motor Neurone Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson's) pay the full sum insured on diagnosis.
• Diagnosis Benefit Option (optional): pays 25% of the sum insured (up to $100,000), or 25% of the Child's Trauma Benefit (up to $12,500), early on diagnosis of 14 listed conditions, with the remainder paid once full payment criteria are met.
• Partial Payment Benefit Option (optional): pays the same 25% (up to $100,000, or $12,500 for children) on diagnosis of 10 other listed conditions, including aneurysm and severe rheumatoid arthritis.
• Child's Trauma Cover Benefit: pays up to $50,000 if your dependent child (aged 4 months to 21 years) suffers a Covered Condition.
• Newborn Child's Benefit: pays 25% of the sum insured, up to $50,000, for specified newborn conditions diagnosed within four months of birth.
• Total and Permanent Disability Covered Condition Option (optional): pays 100% of the sum insured if you're absent from your own occupation for 90 days and unlikely to ever return to it; available for occupation classes 1-4 only.
• Trauma Cover Buy-Back: Immediate Buy-Back automatically restores cover after a claim; Deferred Buy-Back restores cover 12 months after a claim is paid.
• Conversion of Trauma Cover to Severe Trauma Cover: up to 200% of your Trauma Cover, to a maximum of $500,000. Conversion to Moderate Trauma Cover: up to 120%, to the same $500,000 maximum.
• Structure: Trauma Cover Accelerated links to Life Cover (a claim reduces Life Cover, more cost-effective) or Trauma Cover Standalone (doesn't reduce other cover).
• Partial-to-full payment path: Diagnosis Benefit Option (optional): 25% of sum insured (up to $100,000) paid early on first diagnosis of 14 listed conditions, 90-day stand-down applies to higher-risk conditions (marked **) from the date Partners Life receives your application, Full Covered Condition payment: 100% of the sum insured once the full diagnosis criteria are met, Buy-Back Options restore cover afterwards: Immediate (automatic) or Deferred (12 months after the claim is paid)
• Under the Buy-Back Options, previously claimed Covered Conditions may be permanently excluded from the reinstated cover, and stand-down periods may apply again.

Source: Partners Life – Trauma Cover Overview (PLJP_OVERVIEW_TRAUMA_V02_1025), read 16 September 2026.

Trauma stand-downs and survival: 14-day survival period

Partners Life's own fact sheet for Trauma Cover (Accelerated or Standalone) sets a 14-day survival period after diagnosis, with days in intensive care counting, and marks its heaviest conditions with a 90-day stand-down that starts when it receives the application.

• Entry ages 0 to 70; the TPD Covered Condition Option is excluded after age 62; the cover has no expiry age.
• Sum insured from $1,000 to $3,000,000 on a Personal Protection Plan or $5,000,000 on a Business Protection Plan ($450,000 under age 16), aggregated with Moderate Trauma Cover and Severe Trauma Cover.
• Premium options: yearly stepped; 5% stepped, 10-year guaranteed; level to age 65, 70 or 80 (80 on Accelerated only), the level options non-guaranteed.
• Exclusions: self-inflicted harm; for the Child's Trauma Benefit, harm caused by a parent and congenital conditions; refusal to provide claims information or undergo requested examinations or tests.
• The fact sheet is Partners Life's own summary for advisers; the policy document is the contract and its definitions decide each claim. Bought-back cover cannot be increased by Future Insurability or Special Events.

Source: Partners Life – Trauma Cover Accelerated or Standalone Fact Sheet (PLJP_FACT_TRAUMACOVERACCELERATEDORSTANDALONE_V01_1025, effective 27 October 2025; copy hosted by Elite Insure), read 17 September 2026.

Private Medical cover: $600,000 a year for private surgery

The Surgical Benefit pays up to $600,000 a policy year for approved private surgery and related care, including up to $25,000 of non-Pharmac-subsidised drugs for eligible claims.

• Private Hospital Benefit (non-surgical admissions): pays up to $500,000 a policy year, also including up to $25,000 of non-Pharmac-subsidised drugs.
• Excess choice: $0, $250, $500, $1,000, $2,000, $5,000 or $10,000 on the base plan, which can vary for each life assured.
• Major Diagnostic Benefit (e.g. MRI, CT scans, colonoscopy): pays up to $200,000, with an excess of your chosen amount or $250, whichever is less.
• Serious Illness Dental Benefit up to $1,500; Cancer Testing Benefit up to $10,000; psychiatrist/psychologist consultation and counselling up to $2,500 — none of these three carry an excess.
• Children's Coverage Benefit: children born while you hold Private Medical Cover are automatically covered free for the first six months after birth.
• Medical Premium Support on Death: if a life assured dies or is diagnosed terminally ill between ages 21 and 70, premiums for all remaining lives assured are waived for three years, or until the oldest surviving life assured turns 70, whichever is earlier.
• Funeral Support Benefit: pays up to $10,000 (aged 10 or older) or $2,000 (under age 10) on notification of death, except where death results from self-harm within the first 13 months.
• Overseas Treatment Benefit: up to $60,000 if recommended treatment isn't available in New Zealand at all.
• Overseas Waiting List Benefit: reimburses New Zealand-equivalent costs if treatment normally available privately in New Zealand can't be accessed within six months of recommendation.
• Multi-benefit discount: up to 15% off eligible premiums when you hold multiple Partners Life covers.
• An excess applies to the Surgical, Private Hospital and Major Diagnostic benefits (your chosen excess from $0 to $10,000, or $250 for diagnostics if lower) — Serious Illness, Dental, Cancer Testing/Care/Support, Second Opinion and counselling benefits carry no excess.

Source: Partners Life – Private Medical Cover Overview (PLJP_OVERVIEW_PRIVATE MEDICAL COVER_V02_1025-digi; current live version, supersedes the V01 file at the originally supplied URL), read 16 September 2026.

Income cover: Up to 75% of income replaced

Three of the four Income Cover options pay up to 75% of monthly income (Taxable Agreed Value, Agreed Loss of Earnings, or Indemnity Loss of Earnings); Agreed Value pays up to 62.5%, to a cover term of age 65 or 70.

• Income Cover – Agreed Value: sum insured up to 62.5% of monthly income at application (proof of income required); no re-assessment of financials at claim time.
• Income Cover – Taxable Agreed Value: up to 75% of monthly income at application; no re-assessment at claim time.
• Income Cover – Agreed Loss of Earnings: up to 75% of monthly income at application; financials may be required again at claim time.
• Income Cover – Indemnity Loss of Earnings: up to 75% of monthly income, calculated on proven income just before you became disabled.
• Mortgage Repayment Cover: the greater of 45% of monthly income (even without a mortgage) or your actual mortgage repayments, combined with Household Expenses Cover to a maximum of $8,000 a month.
• Cover terms: to age 65 or 70. Payment term options: 12 months, 2 years, 5 years, or to the end of the cover term.
• Booster Option (optional, payment terms 12 months or more): boosts the monthly amount for the first 3 months of any claim by an extra one-third.
• Total and Permanent Disability Option (optional): after 12 months of continuous total disability with no prospect of returning to work, pays a lump sum of up to 24 months' cover, and the monthly benefit continues.
• Payment Term Restriction Option (optional): limits the payment term to one year where symptoms are 'predominantly self-reported rather than medically evidenced'; choosing it discounts the premium by 10%.
• KiwiSaver Option (optional): Partners Life contributes 2%, 4% or 6% of your Monthly Disability Cover sum insured to your KiwiSaver provider while you're on claim.
• From waiting period to long-term disability: Waiting period ends and the Total Disability Benefit begins, Booster Option (optional): +1/3 of the monthly amount for the first 3 months of the claim, Vocational Retraining and Rehabilitation Benefit: up to 24x the monthly sum insured toward retraining/rehabilitation costs, Total and Permanent Disability Option (optional): after 12 months of continuous total disability, a lump sum of up to 24 months' cover, on top of the continuing monthly benefit
• The Payment Term Restriction Option caps the payment term at one year for disabilities that are predominantly self-reported rather than medically evidenced — selecting it earns a 10% premium discount but limits how long you can claim.

Source: Partners Life – Monthly Disability Cover Overview (PLJP_OVERVIEW_MONTHLY DISABILITY_V02_1025; Partners Life's income-cover product, linked from partnerslife.co.nz/monthly-disability-cover), read 16 September 2026.

What it costs

How Partners Life compares on financial strength

Financial strength is the one comparable published fact about an insurer. Every grade below is the insurer's own disclosure for the named licensed entity, linked and dated. A rating belongs to that entity, not to a brand or a product name.

The whole register, every insurer with its legal entity, owner, grade, effective date and source, is a dated dataset you can download: nz-insurer-financial-strength-2026-09-17.csv.

What Partners Life publishes

The wording is the contract. These are Partners Life's own documents, each with the date we read it.

Partners Life plans

Questions about Partners Life

Who is Partners Life?

Adviser-only, and the one New Zealand insurer writing life, trauma, income and private medical cover on a single plan. Owned by Dai-ichi Life. The licensed entity behind the policies is Partners Life Limited.

Who owns Partners Life?

Dai-ichi Life Holdings (acquired 2022). Ownership matters because it decides who carries the risk behind a claim, not how a claim is assessed.

Is Partners Life financially strong?

Partners Life Limited holds a A (Excellent) rating from A.M. Best, read from the insurer's own disclosure on 14 Aug 2026. A rating is an independent view of the ability to pay claims. It says nothing about what a policy covers or what it costs.

Can I buy Partners Life cover without an adviser?

Both routes exist. You can go direct, or use a licensed adviser who can put Partners Life next to the other insurers on the same set of details.

What does Partners Life cover?

Life cover, Trauma cover, Income cover, TPD, Private medical. What each of those pays, and what it excludes, is set by the policy wording rather than by the marketing page, which is why the documents are listed on this page with the date we read them.

Where can I read Partners Life's policy wording?

We link 4 of Partners Life's own documents on this page, each with the date it was read. The wording is the contract; a brochure is not.

Is Partners Life the cheapest?

No insurer is cheapest for everyone. Price depends on your age, your health and an underwriting decision that has not happened yet, so a comparison that leads with price compares the wrong thing. The published limits and definitions are what can be compared, and they are on this page.

How does Partners Life compare with the other insurers?

The financial strength table on this page puts every insurer we compare side by side, with the agency, the grade and the date. The benefit limits sit on the comparison page, and a licensed adviser can run your own details across the panel.

Does QuoteHub work with Partners Life?

Yes. Partners Life is on the QuoteHub panel, so a licensed adviser can quote them, compare them against the rest of the panel and arrange the cover. The full panel is published on the disclosure page rather than implied.

What should I check before applying to Partners Life?

The stand-down period, the exclusions that apply to your own history, whether the premium is stepped or level, and what happens at renewal. All four are in the wording and none of them is in a price.

What plans does Partners Life offer?

Partners Life Journey Plan. Each has its own page here setting out what it pays and what it does not.

Does Partners Life cover pre-existing conditions?

Not automatically. An existing condition is either excluded, loaded or accepted on its own terms, and that decision is made at underwriting on your own history. What matters is what you disclose, because non-disclosure is the most common reason a claim is declined.

Are Partners Life premiums stepped or level?

Both structures exist in the New Zealand market. Stepped rises with your age each year and costs less at the start; level holds a rate to a chosen age and costs more early and less later. Which is cheaper over the life of the policy depends on how long you keep it, not on the insurer.

Can I move to Partners Life from another insurer?

Yes, but moving means new underwriting, so anything that has happened to your health since you took the old policy is assessed again. Never cancel the old cover until the new policy is issued and you have read what it excludes.

Does Partners Life pay claims quickly?

Claims-paid percentages and payment times are published by some New Zealand insurers and not by others, on different bases, which is why we publish the figure only where the insurer publishes it with a period. Where we hold one it appears on the review page for that insurer.

Is Partners Life regulated in New Zealand?

Yes. A licensed insurer is regulated by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, and the advice about a policy is regulated separately by the Financial Markets Authority. Those are two different licences and both matter.

What happens to my Partners Life policy if the company is sold?

A policy is a contract with the licensed entity, so it continues on its terms if ownership changes. New Zealand has seen several life books change hands, and the practical effect for existing policyholders is usually the servicing brand rather than the cover.

How much does Partners Life cover cost?

We do not publish a price for an insurer on this page. A premium depends on age, health, smoking status, occupation, the cover amount and an underwriting decision, so a single figure would be wrong for almost everyone reading it.

Where can I get advice about Partners Life?

A licensed financial adviser can compare it against the rest of the panel on your own details and tell you where it suits you and where it does not. QuoteHub is a trading name of a licensed Financial Advice Provider and the review is free.

How do I make a complaint about Partners Life?

Raise it with the insurer first. If it is not resolved you can take it to the insurer's dispute resolution scheme at no cost. QuoteHub's own scheme is the Financial Dispute Resolution Service.

Where to go next

Partners Life on this site

• Partners Life Income Cover (Agreed Value)
• Partners Life Journey Plan
• Partners Life Mortgage Repayment Cover

Reviews and comparisons

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• Fidelity Life vs Partners Life

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