What the review includes
Not just a price. A clear picture of whether your cover works for your life right now.
What the review includes
A QuoteHub review is a structured needs analysis carried out by a licensed New Zealand financial adviser, covering your income, dependants, mortgage and other debts, your existing policies, and the six cover types we advise on: life, income protection, trauma, health, mortgage protection and business protection. It ends with a written recommendation you are free to act on or ignore.
Most insurance websites give you a price. A price tells you what something costs, not whether it is the right thing to buy. The review exists to answer the second question.
- Structured review of your full situation
- Income, debts, dependants, existing cover. Not just a price comparison.
- Policy clarity in plain English
- What pays out, what doesn't, and what the fine print actually means for you.
- Gap and overlap analysis
- We find what's missing and what you're double-paying for.
- Licensed NZ adviser
- Legally required to act in your interest. Not a chatbot or call centre.
- A professionally drafted will, included
- Drafted by NZ lawyers and included at no extra cost if you place cover through QuoteHub, so the money reaches the right people.
Who is the review for?
The review is for New Zealand residents who have someone or something financially depending on them: a partner, children, a mortgage, a business, or an income nobody else can replace. It is equally useful if you already hold cover and have never had it checked, because a policy bought five years ago was priced for a life you may no longer be living.
It is not for everyone. If you have no dependants, no debt and enough savings to absorb a year without income, an adviser will usually tell you so rather than sell you something.
How does the review work?
The review runs in four stages: a short first conversation, a full needs analysis, research across the insurers on the QuoteHub panel, and a follow-up meeting where you decide. A first conversation typically takes 10 to 30 minutes. Where cover is applied for, the whole process from first call to being covered usually takes about two to six weeks, depending on underwriting.
1. A short first conversation
Around 10 to 30 minutes, usually by phone or video call. Your adviser gives you their disclosure information first, which is a legal requirement under the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013.
2. The needs analysis
Income and employment, dependants, mortgage and debts, existing cover, health and family medical history, occupation and budget.
3. Research across the panel
Your adviser compares the insurers on the QuoteHub panel, named in full on our disclosure page, and writes up what fits and why.
4. A conversation about the options
You talk through the trade-offs, ask questions, and decide. Nothing is submitted to an insurer without your say-so.
What happens after the review?
After the review you own the outcome. You can keep the cover you already have, change insurer, add or drop a benefit, or do nothing at all. If you do apply, your adviser submits the application, manages the insurer's underwriting questions, and stays your point of contact at claim time rather than handing you to a call centre.
If you place cover through QuoteHub, your adviser also keeps checking in as your circumstances change. That ongoing side of the relationship is set out on our ongoing protection page.
QuoteHub, going direct, a broker or a comparison site
The premium an insurer charges is the same whichever door you walk through, so the real difference is how much of the work is done for you and how much of the market you actually see. This is how the four routes compare, including where QuoteHub is no better than the alternatives.
| What you are comparing | QuoteHub | Going direct to an insurer | A broker or adviser | A comparison website |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free to use | Yes. No fee for the check, the adviser call or the written recommendation. | Yes. Insurers do not charge you for a quote. | Usually yes. Some adviser businesses do charge a fee for advice, so ask first. | Yes, to get a quote. |
| Same price as going direct | Yes. Adviser commission is built into the insurer’s standard premium; it is not added on top. | Yes, this is the benchmark the other columns are measured against. | Usually yes, on the same commission basis. | Usually yes. The FMA notes that buying online typically includes a commission as well. |
| Licensed Financial Advice Provider | Yes. Advice is provided by Craig Smith Business Services Limited, trading as Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver, a licensed Financial Advice Provider (FSP712931). | The insurer holds its own licence, but it can only advise on its own products. | Yes. Every adviser in New Zealand must give advice under a licensed Financial Advice Provider. | Some are licensed to give advice; others only pass your details on. Check the site’s disclosure page. |
| Panel size | 8 New Zealand insurers, named in full on our disclosure page. | One, the insurer you called. | Varies. Ask for the list of insurers the adviser can actually place cover with. | Varies, and not always shown. Ask which insurers are included before you enter anything. |
| Claims support | Yes. Your adviser lodges the claim, deals with the insurer and stays your point of contact. | You deal with the insurer’s claims team yourself. | Usually yes, claims help is a core part of what an adviser does. | Usually not. Most hand you to the insurer once the policy is in place. |
| Written summary | Yes. A written recommendation setting out what was compared and why. | You receive the policy documents, not a comparison. | Yes. A written record of advice is required where personalised advice is given. | Usually a list of quotes rather than a recommendation. |
| No obligation | Yes. Nothing is submitted to an insurer without your say-so, and you can stop at any point. | Yes. | Yes. | Yes, though your details may be shared with more than one business. Read the privacy terms. |
| Not tied to one insurer | Not tied to a single provider. A recommendation is made on your needs and the product features, across the whole panel. | The seller is the insurer. | Usually independent, but some adviser businesses are owned by a bank or an insurer. | Some are owned by an insurer, or by a business that buys and resells enquiries. |
What does the review cost?
Nothing. QuoteHub charges you no fee for the check, the adviser call or the written recommendation. Advisers in New Zealand are paid by the insurer through commission when a policy is placed, split between an upfront payment and a smaller trail paid while the policy stays in force. That commission is built into the insurer's standard premium, not added on top for using an adviser.
Being paid this way is a conflict of interest, so we say so. How it is disclosed and managed is set out on how we're paid.
It's all free.
The check is free. The advice call is free. If you take out a policy, the adviser is paid by the insurer. If your current cover is fine, the adviser will tell you that.
What the review does not do
QuoteHub is not an insurer. It does not set premiums, underwrite applications, or accept and decline claims, and it does not review every insurer selling cover in New Zealand. Advice is given across the panel named on our disclosure page, and an insurer outside that panel is not assessed. That is a real limitation, and it is stated rather than hidden.
No figure shown anywhere on this site is a quote. The price you are offered is set by the insurer after underwriting your age, health, occupation and cover choices. The pages on this site are general information; personalised financial advice only begins once a licensed adviser has completed a needs analysis with you.
The insurer panel and our disclosure
How we compare insurersA note from Henry
I started QuoteHub because I kept meeting people who had bought cover they could not explain. They knew what it cost. They did not know what it paid, when, or who decided. That is a bad place to be standing when you finally need it.
So the review runs the other way round. An adviser goes through what you already hold and what your household actually depends on, then writes down where the two do not line up, so you can read it later or show it to someone else. Often the honest answer is that a policy is fine and the sensible thing is to leave it alone. We say that too.
You pay us nothing. The insurer pays a commission if you place cover, and that is set out in full on how we’re paid.
Henry Smith, Financial Adviser (FSP1010699). General information, not personalised financial advice.
Explore related pages: Life Insurance, Income Protection, Health Insurance, Trauma Insurance, Technology.