Asteron won’t hike premiums despite better benefits

Asteron Life rolls out policy improvements and clearer definitions, saying it will absorb extra costs to keep premiums steady.

Asteron Life is improving its insurance policies without hiking premiums, while other insurers have put prices up throughout the year.

The insurer has rolled out better benefits and clearer policy wording this month, but says it will absorb the extra costs rather than pass them on to customers. This is a different tack from competitors, with some insurers announcing multiple price rises in 2025.

"We are proud of the fact that we've been able to keep our premiums consistent and haven't had to put through any of the large increases that our competitors have," says Michelle Randeson, manager - platform and products at Asteron Life. "We hear from advisers that customers are struggling out there."

Plugging the gaps in cover

The changes came about after looking at feedback from the claims team and advisers, particularly where customers tried to claim but the policy definitions didn't quite fit.

One example is the explicit inclusion of Guillain-Barré syndrome - a condition that can take people out of work for months but wasn't explicitly covered by any New Zealand insurer.

"We had direct customer feedback from a customer whose husband had suffered with it, and there wasn't a claimable definition for it," Randeson says. "There's clearly a customer need, but it doesn't fit under other definitions because it isn't a permanent disability, though it can take time to rehabilitate and return to work."

Other changes are about making existing cover clearer. With stem cell treatment, for example, a customer had their own stem cells extracted and reinserted - a procedure Asteron would have covered, but the policy wording left claims staff uncertain.

"We felt it was really important to introduce that clarity," Randeson says. "We would have paid that previously, it's just that the wording wasn't as clear."

The company expects some changes may lead to slightly more trauma payouts as people become aware of what they can claim for. But Randeson says other improvements simply clarify claims that were already being paid.

What’s changed

The upgrades include practical support like helping families when someone's in hospital. There's now up to $300 a day for accommodation and $2,500 for travel costs when a family member needs to be there during treatment.

The diabetes definition has been updated to reduce the threshold for claims from two complications to one. Business customers get increased support for rehabilitation and retraining to help them get back to work.

All the improvements apply automatically to existing customers with policies issued after August 2004, with no paperwork required.

Randeson says the approach reflects the company's focus on sustainability over having market-leading definitions that might require frequent premium adjustments.

"While they may not be the top definition in the market, what advisers appreciate is that we're keeping an eye on sustainability," she says. "We don't want to be increasing customer premiums constantly."