There’s a common notion that during times of tightened purse strings, insurance is among those that are first to be let go. In Vahry Insurance founder and managing director Julia Vahry’s (pictured) experience, however, that has not been the case despite the recessionary environment Kiwis are finding themselves in.
“I guess we’re already in a recession really, technically,” Vahry told Insurance Business. “People are worried about money, mortgage rates have increased, and people are very wary about where their money goes. But with new clients coming on board in the last month, I was actually surprised that they were willing to spend as much on insurance as they have.
“Life & health and being able to keep their mortgage are just something at the moment that they’re not willing to risk cutting back or being short on. [It’s more,] ‘We really have to protect the ability to earn income or protect our finances, because things are so tight right now’. It’s been quite interesting. It was not really what I was [expecting]; it’s been quite the opposite.”
Based in Waikato, Vahry arranges life insurance, health insurance, mortgage protection, income protection, and trauma insurance.
According to the former police officer, there are also no issues when it comes to capacity, unlike in the world of general insurance at present.
In Vahry’s view, the recent disasters in New Zealand, while not directly related to life & health, have put insurance in people’s minds in a broader sense.
“It definitely gets people thinking about their livelihoods and the importance of insurance when things go wrong,” Vahry said. “So, [the weather events] have been bringing insurance to people’s attention.”
The upcoming winter months will also get New Zealanders looking into their policies, the broker added.
“People will start thinking about their health,” Vahry told Insurance Business. “Perhaps they’re getting sick more in the winter. And you’re inside a little bit more, so you’re more, I guess, willing to address the things you don’t normally want to have to do.
“I’m sure other brokers will feel exactly the same. This is the busy period, in terms of inquiries and people wanting to get their life admin done.”
Meanwhile, Vahry has also been getting calls and messages from insureds whose advisers chose to leave the industry when the new financial advice regime was introduced.
“What I have noticed – and I’m sure other brokers have experienced it as well – is I’ve had quite a number of calls from new clients wanting to get reviews,” Vahry said. “Their original adviser who they selected has maybe left the industry or sold their book of clients, and they haven’t perhaps built the rapport with the new business owner.
“The response from some clients is, ‘Oh, hey, instead of having it selected for me, I would like to go back out to market and look at a new broker and partnerships and relationships that I want to develop myself’.
“So, I’ve been seeing a lot of those reaching out to me – lots of people with existing insurances, really good policies that might need some tweaking with the insurance provider that they have, because it might have been a while since they last had a review.”
For Vahry, “it’s a real privilege” that people are picking up the phone or sending an email and say, ‘Hey, we’re really keen for you to take over’.
“It’s been an interesting time,” she said.
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