Business Insurance (Income, Life, Trauma, Total & Permanent Disablement)

Business people work too hard to throw

away their money.

Yet knowing just where and how to get the best value can

be difficult. That’s where the team at Horizon

Insurance and Investment Brokers come in.

“One of the most important decisions people in business

can make is partnership or ‘key-person’ insurance,” says Fiona.

“In the event of the unexpected, it is vital that the partners or

business owners already have a plan in place.”

Without a plan, problems can arise if a key person or a business

partner suffers a serious illness or dies, says Fiona. “Business

insurance is future proofing” because having the funds from

an insurance policy gives the policy owner choices. Many

small businesses would suffer financially if a key-person was

disabled and couldn’t continue in his or her role; likewise if a

business partner suffered a serious illness or died, funds would

be needed to buy the partner, or his/her beneficiary out.

“The right time to take out insurance is before you need it”,

says Fiona. Business owners can put in place, at the time of

application, the facility to increase their protection as their

business grows.” This means regardless of any future changes

to their health, they have the peace of mind knowing they can

increase their protection.

Aligned with that insurance should be a buy/sell agreement

between the partners. This important document spells out the

criteria for the trigger point (medically) for one partner to buy

out the other, which is then funded by insurance.

Business and personal Insurance is the major part of Horizon’s

business. “But ours is not a fire and general business, says Fiona.

“We cover the body.” As well as life insurance, the advisers at

Horizon offer trauma, income protection, health insurance,

total and permanent disability, and mortgage repayment

insurance.

“Many people think that their house is their biggest asset,

when in reality it is often their biggest liability. Your ability to

earn is your biggest asset because without income you don’t

have a lifestyle” says Sue.

“A huge point of difference we have from many other adviser

businesses is that we don’t have contractual obligations to

any one insurance company,” says Lisa. “We are able to choose

which company’s products best meets our clients’ needs.”

It is all about the clients and ensuring we’re there for them at

claim time, says Fiona. “Often the client’s interpretation of the

policy wording is quite different from the insurance company’s.

That is when we go into battle for our client.

Staying informed is vital so the all-women team (Fiona,

Sue and Lisa) invited ACC to come to the office and explain its

CoverPlus Extra policy. “It is in our, and our clients’ interest that

we know all about this,” says Fiona. ACC, together with Income

Protection or Mortgage Repayment, used as part of a client’s

risk protection plan, offers better all-round protection than

ACC alone, but it’s vital that our clients have the right type of

ACC cover.

Investment Advice is

an area that has become highly regulated in the last year.

An important aspect of any investment is ‘risk profiling’.

The Authorised Financial Adviser (referred to as ‘AFA’) must

conduct a risk profile with each investment client. This is

a comprehensive profile analysis that assesses the client’s

ability to handle risk, and determines whether the client is a

conservative, balanced or aggressive investor.

“On July 1, 2011 it became mandatory for all fi nancial advisers

who gave personalised advice on insurance and investments

to become authorised,” says Lois. This involved a great deal

of hard work, study and examinations. The regulations set

standards for disclosure, competence, continued training,

accountability and transparency.

One of the major changes under the regulations was the process

by which Authorised Financial Advisers give advice. “Our first

visit is about fi nding out our client’s situation and needs” says

Fiona. We look at the whole picture, their short, medium and

long-term goals. Then we research how best to meet those

needs. That research and the subsequent recommendations

must be backed up by supporting documentation and the

client provided with our ‘Statement of Advice’ – a document

that summarises what our client wants to achieve from a risk

protection plan, our recommendations and the cost of the

recommendations.

Collectively the women at Horizon have over 43 years

experience in their profession and they all thoroughly enjoy

their work and their working environment. “We are never too

busy to have a laugh,” says Sue.

For more information ring  Fiona, Sue or Lisa  on (06) 7594 470, or

email: admin@horizoninsurance.co.nz