The 9 Best Insurance Brokers in Wellington
Are you beginning to think about your health and family’s financial security? You’re in luck because we’ve got a list of the best insurance brokers in Wellington for you today!
Navigating the world of insurance can be tricky, so we’ve done the research for you to make the process easier. We based our top choices on the insurance products they offer, their range of services, and what their clients have to say about them.
Don’t worry about them adding to your expenses, by the way: insurance brokers won’t cost you a single dollar! If you want to know why, read on below.
How much do insurance brokers cost in Wellington?
The best part about choosing an insurance broker is that you don’t have to worry about expenses. Technically, you don’t have to pay them anything directly for their services.
Insurance brokers earn through commissions paid by the insurance companies, which are usually based on the value of your policy. Brokers can receive two types of commissions, namely an “initial” commission and an “ongoing” commission.
The “initial” or upfront commission is the first payment they’ll receive, which is given upon signing a client with a policy. This is usually the largest payout and can be as much as 220% of your first year’s premium.
The “ongoing” commission, on the other hand, is an amount they receive based on your commission’s annual premium. This usually ranges from 5% to 30% of your policy’s premium.
So for example, if you sign a life insurance policy worth $50,000, they can receive as much as $110,000 initial commission. If that same policy has an annual premium of $20,000, your broker can receive a yearly payment of up to $6,000.
Since different insurance products can have different commission rates, we’ve summarized them for you in the table below.
The Best Insurance Brokers in Wellington
Now that you know how much your broker earns in terms of commissions, let’s take a look at our picks for the top insurance brokers in Wellington.
1. Policywise
Policywise was founded in 2018 by Calum MacLeod to simplify the process of choosing insurance for New Zealanders. The company does this by providing an easy way to compare the policies offered by the top insurers.
Each staff member at Policywise is a licensed financial adviser, meaning that whoever answers the phone can help you out with all your questions and needs. However, because their service is primarily online, you can conveniently get a quote no matter where you are.
Policywise focuses solely on health, life & disability insurance instead of offering you a variety of different products. They’ve chosen to specialize in only these three categories to provide you with comprehensive and in-depth advice.
They are partnered with AIA, Partners Life, Asteron Life, Fidelity Life, Cigna, Acucro, Nib, and Southern Cross. Although it’s a short list, these companies are regarded as the nine most popular insurers in New Zealand.
We like that Policywise offers a 14-day free-look period, which essentially means you can cancel and get a full refund if you don’t want to continue your policy. However, “clawing out” of your agreement after this two-week grace period will incur service fees.
As mentioned earlier, Policywise aims to keep it simple, and one way they do this is by providing you with a short printable report with a one-page table of your best options. This report also has explanations of each policy’s features in layman’s terms.
Moreover, their in-house software will present you with comprehensive comparisons of different insurers on the features you need most in a policy. They’ll line up these features side by side so that you can quickly see which policy favors your needs the most.
Now, this comparison report will already have been narrowed down to your best options, with the corresponding premiums as well. With their comparison table, you can quickly focus on only the policies that serve your needs, saving you time and effort.
In short, if you’re looking for a broker that can quickly provide you with an easy-to-understand comparison of policies across different insurers, Policywise is a solid choice. Hence, this company makes it to our list of one of the top insurance brokers in Wellington.
Pros
- 14-day free look period
- Provides a quick comparison of policies from different insurers
- All staff members are licensed financial advisers
Cons
- Only provides life, health and disability insurance
- Only offers policies from nine insurers
Customer Reviews
Considered and impartial
“I recently talked to Calder with a view of changing my existing health insurance policy. I really appreciated his help in guiding me through different products and figuring out what was best for me. His opinion was considered and impartial, allowing me to come to my own decision.” – Claire Lefevre
Very understanding and accommodating
“George was fantastic, he listened to my family needs and provided easy to understand options for our health insurance. He was very understanding and accommodating when I had to postpone our chats last minute due to a six month old, and made the whole process really easy. Highly recommend especially for anyone time-poor with kids!” – Justine Glucina
2. Finsol
Finsol was founded by Gareth Dobson in 2010, a licensed financial adviser with over a decade of experience. He also has a background as a qualified electrician which puts him in a unique position to understand his clients’ needs even better.
He has won several NZFSG and industry awards, helping him lead a team that has over four decades’ worth of combined experience. Finsol has likewise won multiple awards for its services as a digitally innovative firm.
One way they do this is by providing clients the option of conducting consultations and meetings through online video. They also use various software and tools to facilitate signing the necessary documents right on your phone or tablet.
The main insurers Finsol works with are AIA, Accuro, Asteron Life, Cigna, Fidelity Life, NIB, Partners Life, and Southern Cross. However, they may reach out to other companies beyond this list of providers.
While they won’t charge any fees with regards to insurance, they may charge for financial advice needed to secure your loans. For this service, they charge a minimum of two hours at $250 per hour.
Nevertheless, Finsol’s life insurance packages are quite comprehensive, offering a lump-sum payment for your beneficiaries to cover things such as funeral costs, debt, or to keep a family business running. However, Finsol will also make sure your policy works in tandem with your will to ensure your estate can be distributed properly.
Moreover, what we like best about Finsol is their free trauma cover for your children if you apply for life insurance. The Kids Serious Trauma Cover provides a lump sum of $50,000 if your child is ill to cover medical costs or your time away from work.
Since the founder is a tradesman, Finsol has also included ACC CoverPlus Extra in its services, which provides disability cover for sole traders and business owners. It can cover up to 80% of your lost income due to injuries or illness, and Finsol can guide you through the tedious process of filing claims as well.
Pros
- Open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
- Can sign all documents without face-to-face meetings
- Free trauma cover for kids if you sign life insurance
Cons
- Charges minimum of $500 for financial advice for loans
- Focuses more on personal insurance than business
Customer Reviews
Fantastic
“Pat is truly fantastic. Anytime I have a question he answers it right away. He goes above and beyond to help us out, whether it be driving to us to sign a form, or taking the time to explain the impacts of a certain policy vs another. His number 1 priority is to ensure that I’m happy with the insurance I have, and will loop back to check that it’s still suiting my needs.Would recommend Pat to everyone I know.” – Brittany Hoare
Everything’s easy and well explained
“We came in knowing that we needed life & health insurance, but knowing absolutely nothing about what that actually meant, and Pat has made us feel completely confident and safe the whole way through! Everything’s easy and well explained. We feel like we can completely trust his recommendations and never felt forced into something we didn’t need. 10/10 would recommend Pat again” – Henry Benn
3. Velocity Financial
Velocity Financial was founded by Graham Goodisson over two decades ago, initially helping people buy their first homes. With a team of licensed experts, they have expanded their offerings to include various insurance products for both individuals and businesses today.
They offer three tiers of life and health insurance namely “Bare Bones”, Medium and Full. The most basic plan only offers a lump sum payout to cover debts and mortgage insurance, while medium adds trauma and health cover.
Their Full cover is comprehensive, adding payouts to cover funeral expenses and living costs of surviving dependents, which can be given as a lump sum or monthly payments. It also includes disability, trauma, income protection, and health insurance with diagnostics and testing.
Velocity Financial offers policies from 28 different insurers, which can potentially provide you with more than enough options to choose from. The companies on their list include AIA, Asteron Life, Nib, Partners Life, and Southern Cross, among others.
While service is generally free, if you discontinue your policy within 27 months, they’ll charge you for their time at a rate of $200 per hour. However, the maximum that they will charge is $3,000.
Now, if you’re looking to insure your home, assets, business, or need general insurance, this will be provided by the Caveo team operated by Velocity Financial. So whether you’re looking to protect your home from damage or need to ensure your livelihood, they’ve got it covered.
Velocity Financial also offers businesses their Employee Momentum Program, which provides a comprehensive and customized insurance package for employers to offer their employees. It provides guaranteed acceptance to an insurance plan with full cover and employees have the option to add their family or partners as well.
Pros
- Comprehensive full-coverage life insurance
- Partnered with 28 insurers
- Employee Momentum Program
Cons
- May charge service fees for cancellations
- May charge fees for large time consuming policies for corporations
Customer Reviews
Incredible responsive
“Simon and the team at Velocity are outstanding and amazing, incredible responsive, literally could not have achieved what we needed to without Simon’s guidance and patience. Thank you very much.” – Dennis & Julia
No hesitation recommending
“Brendon and the team at Velocity are amasing, incredible responsive in these tough times and also kept me informed on how the process is progressing. No hesitation recommending Velocity Financial.” – Ben Duflou
4. Capital Advice
Capital Advice has over 75 years of experience in handling mortgages and insurance. This small team has established solid relationships with various lenders and insurers to provide you with policy options that can cater to your needs.
Now, this small team of four is composed mostly of mortgage advisers, so if you’re looking for insurance, you’ll probably be dealing with Tracey Verrenkamp. Her work ethic centers on the premise of “recommending” insurance plans and advice as opposed to selling them.
As the resident Risk Insurance Adviser at Capital, she can advise you on life, health, mortgage, income protection, disability, and trauma insurance. These cover the basics of what any individual may need, whether it’s to look out for their family’s health or their financial security.
Capital Advice also offers several business insurance products namely shareholder protection, key person cover, business continuation, and group insurance. Tracey Verrenkamp can advise and assist you in developing a strategy to protect your business so that you’re aptly prepared for any unforeseen circumstances.
Kit Jackson is another adviser at Capital Advice who will help you out on other general insurance needs and protection for your home and vehicle. He is also the current owner and mortgage adviser at Capital Advice, and has over 18 years of experience in finance.
Now, as they don’t deal with anyone that doesn’t pay them a commission, they have never charged a client for their services.
However, they will not do so without full disclosure and your approval. This way, you can decide if you want to go with that policy or seek other options.
We definitely commend them for their goal of having an ongoing relationship with their clients and providing on-going support with policy servicing and claims.
Pros
- Open daily, even on weekends
- Specializes in mortgage and risk insurance
Cons
- May offer non-commission policies
- Only one resident insurance adviser
Customer Reviews
Expert and very efficient service
“I highly recommend using Capital Advice. They have always provided expert and very efficient service. They are proactive and are only too willing to assist in providing the right solution for you. They give helpful advice and guidance. I cannot fault them . They get a big five star rating from me. Thanks Capital Advice you take the stress away and make it easy for your clients.” – Stephanus Vluggen
Responsive and highly professional
“I had a great experience with Kit at Capital advice. He was responsive and highly professional and assisted me greatly during a time of huge change for me. I really valued how prompt he was and how he worked hard to get the best deal for me while also answering all my (many!!!) questions. Thanks so much!” – Rebecca Sinclair
5. Aon (Wellington)
Aon New Zealand operates as a part of the Aon Corporation, which is originally based in the UK. They specialize in offering a variety of “every day” and “non-everyday” insurance products for individuals, businesses, and industries.
They have over 70 branches in New Zealand and a wide network spanning across over 120 countries. They are a great choice if you’re looking for a broker that’s easily accessible wherever you may be.
One reason to consider Aon is simply due to their vast selection of services that go beyond the usual offer of life, health, and travel insurance products. Moreover, they offer the Aon Kiwi Saver Scheme, which lets you use their fund managers to assist you in investing your money.
But what really makes Aon unique are their specialized insurance products that cater towards agri-businesses and the industry sector.
AonAgri can help local businesses involved in apiculture, dairy, horticulture, crops, and livestock acquire protection for their invaluable contributions to the economy. Under the cover that Aon provides, you can be protected from damage to your property, assets, business interruptions, farm valuations, and liabilities.
Moreover, Aon also offers cover for large businesses like aviation, entertainment, and construction, just to name a few. Aon can provide risk assessments and offer protection to companies against injuries that may befall employees.
Do take note though that Aon charges “administrative fees” for their services to cover their expenses and disbursements. This will automatically come into effect if you decide to “act on their advice” or continue with one of their insurance policies.
Aon can present policies from over 18 major insurers, with a diverse lineup of products that have been handpicked for the New Zealand landscape. They’ll act as an intermediary between you and the insurers, negotiating the best deal for your needs.
Pros
- Offers products for agri-businesses
- 70 locations around New Zealand
- Has multilingual brokers
- Can purchase livestock insurance online
Cons
- Charges administrative fees
- Expensive premiums
Customer Reviews
Very helpful
“Very helpful, highly recommend this Co, staff are willing to help, & claims fairly assessed, & honoured.” – Owen Foster
6. Dixon Financials
SERVICES | Insurance, Business Loans, Mortgages |
WEBSITE | https://dixonfinancials.co.nz/ |
ADDRESS | Dixon Financials, Gilmer Terrace, Wellington Central, Wellington, New Zealand |
CONTACT DETAILS | 021 566 009| [email protected] |
OPERATING HOURS |
Dixon Financials is an expert when it comes to handling various financial situations for individuals to make them easily comprehensible. Founded and operated by Jonny Dixon, they have since then offered services such as insurances and mortgages among others.
Working with various insurance companies, they can effectively serve as the individuals who bridge your needs with the most appropriate company for each client.
Not only do they help clients connect with the company best for them but also guide them through the whole process of planning, reconstructing, and executing their finances.
There might be instances for limitations when it comes to personnel since it is operated by only one individual which could call for some hindrances in scheduling and slots.
Overall, clients have had a pleasant experience with them since they are able to effectively break down the whole process. They enable clients to have full control over their finances whilst receiving timely guidance.
Pros
- Accommodates various types of insurances
- Highly certified professionals
- Effective and timely advice
Cons
- Operating hours unavailable
Customer Reviews
Here are some reviews from their clients:
“Jonny was great to deal with. He makes everything easy and simple while being transparent and reliable, a team player interested in the best for his clients.” – Tarren Richardson
“Jonny makes insurance as interesting and painless as it can be. He explains everything so what I know what I’m covered for and I know I can change it when things change in my life. I feel like I am in control of the process.” – Ryan K
7. Andrewes Risk Management Ltd
Richard Andrewes, the founder of Andrewes Risk Management Ltd, is no stranger to the insurance industry. He has already gained experience for over 40 years as a corporate and commercial broker.
In the year of 2000, he was awarded as the NZ Broker of the Year for New Zealand by CIBNZ. Apart from that he is also a registered financial advisor in insurance broking and has earned a few more qualifications.
The company offers a wide range of services including personal insurance, business insurance, specialist cover, and professional services. This is great for those looking for an all-in-one broker who can assist in several ways.
On their website, no information on pricing is available. There were also no insurance packages mentioned so it’s hard to tell if they offer those, but an enquiry can be made through their website.
Andrewes Risk Management Ltd is based in Kapiti Coast and opens at 9:00 am to 5:00 pm on Mondays to Fridays.
Pros
- Owner has over 40 years of experience
- Offers a wide range of insurance services
- Has other professional services
Cons
- No pricing and packages available for viewing
- Closed on weekends
8. Abbott Insurance Brokers
SERVICES | Business insurance Personal insurance Life & health insurance KiwiSaver & home loans |
WEBSITE | https://abbott.co.nz |
ADDRESS | Level 2 Abbott House 128 Kilmore Street Christchurch 8013 |
CONTACT DETAILS | TEL: 03 366 7536 FAX: 03 379 5395 |
OPERATING HOURS | Monday – Friday, 8:30 AM – 5 PM |
If you’re looking for one of the leading insurance brokers in Wellington, then Abbot Insurance Brokers may be the one for you. They have a team of experienced and professional brokers who aim to protect their client’s position and future financial being through their personalized insurance programs tailored to the client’s needs.
Being a member of the Steadfast Group which is one of the largest general insurance brokers in Australia, they have committed to providing a variety of reliable services including business insurance, personal insurance, life & health insurance, and KiwiSaver & home loans.
We particularly liked their commercial vehicle insurance which is a part of their business insurance. You can trust them with your business vehicle because they have hundreds of policies to manage different areas of business risks.
Lastly, they also extend their services to clients making claims. To make a claim, you must first download and complete the claim form on their website and send it to [email protected]. A loss adjuster may be appointed in order to assist you with your claim.
Pros
- Great customer support
- Tailored Plans
- Experienced brokers
Cons
- Closed on Weekends
Customer Reviews
Professional and efficient
“As a client and having had a recent claim. I can honestly say the professionalism and efficiency they provided me was flawless.” – Axel Scheffel
Excellent service and communication
“Excellent service and communication- great to deal with, especially when working through claims with your insurer. Would recommend their services to everyone” – Matt Loose
9. Matt Guildford
Matt Guildford is an insurance expert that created and spearheads the insurance arm of The Home Loan Shop to aid clients in procuring and availing the best insurance packages that suits their needs, preferences, and budget.
Persevering and highly knowledgeable, his over 10 years of experience in the field ensures clients that he is not only well-connected but highly resourceful when it comes to negotiating the best plan for the client.
Furthermore, being part of a multi-disciplinary team of professionals, clients can also expect that the services given will be holistic and well-rounded when providing them choices and successfully applying for insurance plans as well.
Note though that their services aren’t readily quoted to interested clients looking for such services may need to inquire with them first for such information.
Nonetheless, with his versatile and proactive approach, excellent communication practices, and well-resourced organization, we strongly recommend him to clients looking for a professional to help them acquire the insurance plan that they need.
Pros
- Thorough and versatile policies provided
- Pleasant and convenient process
- Accommodating and amicable personnel
Cons
- Rates of their services aren’t readily rated
Customer Reviews
Here are some reviews from their clients:
“I’ve worked with Matt a couple of times now and I’ve always been really impressed with his thoroughness. His knowledge and expertise is second to none. The first occasion of working with him was complex on health grounds, but he found the right solution and was tenacious in getting a much better than expected result.More recently we’ve reviewed and optimised the original insurance packages but also driven through new insurances. This was more complex that it should have been (not on Matt’s part) but he once again drove it through, working with the insurer to get a great result.The comms are great and I felt informed at each step of the way.I cannot recommend Matt and his team highly enough.”
“Matt was recommended to me and my partner by our mortgage broker. Right from the word “go”, Matt was able to get us the best advice on the types of insurance available that would fit our requirements. He works quickly – both in responding to any queries we had, and in pulling applications together. We really couldn’t have asked for more from Matt. Thanks again for all of your help!”
FAQs about Insurance Brokers
And that’s our list of the best insurance brokers in Wellington. Were you able to find one that you think is a suitable match for your needs?
There are a number of other great insurance brokers out there, so if we missed your favorite one, please let us know!
Now, if you’re looking for a broker to assist you with a home loan, we’ve got you covered. Check out our reviews of the best mortgage brokers in Wellington to help you get the home of your dreams!