I’ve said for many years that Kiwi's love being self-employed, and we seem to switch between employed and self-employed a lot. Some succeed, some have a change of direction, and some are about a change of situation. The point is that change is inevitable.

What will surprise you; typically, there are over 45,000 start-up businesses each year in New Zealand. Anecdotal evidence also suggests that a large number of these businesses are registered with the Companies Office early in the new year. Unfortunately, a lot of these businesses will simply fail due to cash-flow constraints. Some will be because the business isn’t sustainable, but the more likely reason is someone got injured or was prevented from working due to a disability.

I work but don't get paid; the insurance company won't insure me.

This is probably right for disability-related benefits. Not to diminish what you do, but lots of valuable people in our community do essential things but don't get paid for it; mothers and volunteers tend to top that list.

One of the factors with this is that insurance companies insure for financial loss; with unpaid occupations, this is hard to quantify.

We have recently seen a number of changes with bank life insurers and we now have both BNZ and Westpac life insurance administered by traditional life insurance providers. Meaning that if you have life trauma or disability products from your bank, it's time to have a closer look as it may be that we can improve what you have or reduce your premiums in ways not previously considered.

How did you get here?

We have all had ‘The would you like fries with that approach’. You are standing at the teller at the bank doing your banking and they start asking you a bunch of questions. You are here now; we can do other things for you, nice and easy. Do you have life insurance; can we help you with your mortgage? Can we invest your money or look after your Kiwisaver? Or some other variation on this.

My question is why would you take advice for your insurance or investments standing at a teller at the bank? Would you take advice for chest pains from your local cafe owner? My point is they are chalk and cheese, banking and insurance.

Look before you leap. Aussie shopkeepers and Kiwi small business owners. Terms often used by people looking at our respective markets when looking at the predominant structures for trade and commerce.

Probably not too far wrong, New Zealand has one of the highest per capita self-employed rates in the world. Which is why I am focussing this posting on those of you who are employed rather than self-employed. Because employed Kiwis often have a change in situation and end up self-employed.

A good question and one that is often misunderstood when it comes to income protection.

It’s also been coming up in conversations more recently, suggesting there’s some job security sentiment developing.

In New Zealand, there are five situations that impact your ability to earn an income.

I've spent 24 years in financial services, during which time I've worked on a significant number of difficult income protection claims. I still don't understand why the indemnity-first approach for income protection still prevails with the majority of advisers in today's environment.

Well, I do. It's not the client-first approach we'd all like to expect. Advisers have to do less and get paid more, but that's another story.

In basic terms, income protection insurance in New Zealand replaces a percentage of your income when you cannot work in your own occupation due to medical or injury reasons. 

It is designed to provide 75-80% of your in-hand earnings when you are disabled at claim time.

Most policies today have a range of options and different flavours. Fundamentally, there are two types: those you pay tax on at claim time and those you do not. 

As a home based worker, insuring your income can be a bit of a challenge in some situations, though with post Covid, work from home has become more accepted by insurers. 

The question is what do you do and how mobile do you have to be to do it? 

To be clear, I'm talking about those people who earn an income rather than those who are in unpaid occupations. The later is another article.

I'll be exploring a few situations and the insurance approach for paid home based workers, to give you a bit of an idea about how you can protect your income if you work from home.

An interesting question that is often asked. In a nutshell, whatever you like, just that it gets deducted from your ACC weekly compensation claim.

ACC weekly compensation is there to cover loss or replace a loss of income. You earn something that loss is reduced; your ACC payment will be reduced too.

How does this work?

Most people, when discussing income protection for the first time, assume it automatically covers job loss (redundancy). It doesn't, and it's often not an option. Over the last 5-10 years, this has ebbed and flowed, with mortgage repayment having redundancy as an option, and some income protection too. Post Covid, most no longer have redundancy cover available.

The point I am making is things change, but this article is not about redundancy.

What I am talking about is a new product Asteron Life released in 2015, that is quite different to the normal income protection approach.

I have mentioned this before; banks are good at looking after your money and giving you ways to spend it. They are not so good about helping you out of debt or giving you insurance advice. This is especially so at the teller level, which is where a lot of bank cover is sold rather than advised.

For example, 'Thanks, Mr. Smith. We've got your banking sorted. Would you like insurance with that?'

You have heard it before, possibly not the best thing for you.

I call it the fries approach

Melanoma is the most serious form of skin cancer and with over 4,000 people diagnosed with melanoma in New Zealand each year, we have one of the world’s highest rates. Sun exposure is the number one cause of melanoma, with genetics also playing a part. Melanoma is the uncontrolled growth of melanocytes, which are the cells which produce the pigment which colours our hair, skin and eyes. If caught early enough, it is treatable, but once it has spread, the prognosis is not so great.

Maybe you should have another look. This opinion piece in the New Zealand Herald is a great example of why you need a good risk adviser, who also works with ACC, as well as your insurance. 

No, you employed people aren't exempt from this either. If you plan on taking a break from employment for any reason you too need advice on your ACC coverage for accident disabilities and weekly compensation.

If you are looking for the '13% level of funding in New Zealand' Article, it's moved here due to some changes with our web software, if not, read on ;)

An estimated one in four New Zealanders will at some point suffer from anxiety during their life according to the Mental Health Foundation. As the most commonly diagnosed mental health condition in our country, anxiety is also a condition many people do not seek medical assistance with. Yet excessive anxiety can cause significant disruptions to the life of an individual, making early recognition and treatment essential.

What does this really mean for you?

For many, it is about getting the kids to school and you to work. There are going to be some goals along the way and Christmas is coming again.