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9:20
Separation has a way of making “set and forget” insurance decisions suddenly urgent. We’ve seen how joint policy ownership, outdated beneficiaries, and a rushed cancellation can leave people exposed at the exact moment they need protection most. So we’re getting practical about what changes after a breakup and why your life insurance, health insurance, trauma cover, and income protection need a proper review when your household splits in two.
We unpack the biggest risk we see with vulnerable clients: joint policies that can’t be changed unless both owners agree. If one person won’t sign, the other may keep paying premiums while an ex-partner still holds control or receives the benefit. We also talk through the hidden cost of starting again from scratch. If a policy lapses and you reapply later, new medical history, age, and underwriting can mean exclusions, higher premiums, or even a decline, which can be life-changing if your health has shifted since you first took cover.
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer, especially when kids are involved. Sometimes keeping a structure that pays to an ex can still be the most realistic way to protect children financially, but only if the ownership and intent are clear. We also challenge the habit of asking Facebook for insurer recommendations, because insurance advice should be personal and based on your actual situation.
If you’ve recently separated, are thinking about it, or know someone who is, listen now, then subscribe, share, and leave a review. What’s the one thing you want to make sure is protected if life changes again?
you today. Good to see you too. It's been a while. Yeah, it's been a while. So vulnerable clients. Let's talk about them. Because uh, did you know in New Zealand 8,000 divorces happen each year? I didn't know it was that many. I knew it was high, but
wow. So that's 16,000 people. Yeah. And it's just divorces, right? Yeah. We're not even talking about people dating and separating. Like it's massive. That's yeah.
unknown
Wow.
SPEAKER_00
That's absolutely mind-blowing. So, from the insurance point of view, what my concern is always, and look, I went through that myself, you know, when we separated, I had to make sure the insurances stay relevant to the situation. But it's really hard sometimes to untangle those things, isn't it?
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, especially when there's a joint ownership situation and things may be a bit more acrimonious with the split or anything like that. It it can be a lot harder. And there is that concern that if it's not sorted, you know, something happens down the track, then your ex-spouse, your ex-partner is the one that still has control over your policy.
SPEAKER_00
Mm. Because like when we were splitting up, like my ex was happy to sign it off, I signed it off for him, like we just split it off. But the other person has to agree.
SPEAKER_01
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00
And if the other person doesn't agree, then they own your policy. So if something happens to you, they still can benefit from it.
SPEAKER_01
Yeah. Exactly. And you're the one paying the premium still to cover yourself. But your ex can benefit. And then the other issue is if they won't sign it, getting a brand new policy can have its own issues as well. Because obviously you stop paying and your policy can lapse. Because even if your ex won't sign a cancellation or anything like that, if you do, if your policy lapses and you want a new one, you've got, you know, multiple things that could have happened in your life since health issues, smoker status, any of that stuff can affect any new policies. Whereas if you've had this other policy for a long time, it could be standard, like no issues at all in it. So you could end up with worse terms if you try to get a new policy instead.
SPEAKER_00
Wow. And I don't think people realize that. Like you're right, and you know, a lot of divorces happen when people are in their 30s and 50s. So if you by the time you hit 50s, I mean there's a lot that can go sideways in your health. You start developing certain things. So when you try to take a new insurance, they may not cover you for all those pre-existing conditions.
SPEAKER_01
Exactly. Or if they will cover you, it could be a higher premium, or there's multiple other factors as well.
SPEAKER_00
Wow. So what can we do to help people? So if they were brand new, getting a policy out, do we make it a joint policy or what?
Well, the problem there is that a joint policy does have benefits as well if you're still together. So we can't, unfortunately, we're not fortune tellers. So because for an example, like life insurance, if you're a husband and wife and one of you do pass, the surviving owner gets the policy paid out very quickly, right? If it's if it's not a joint policy, you've got to wait for the will to go through probate, all of that, and it takes a long a lot longer for anything to pay out. So it's a bit of a mixed bag, it's a hard one. You can't really You damn if you do, you're damned if you don't. Pretty much you can't win either way, quite frankly. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00
I mean, my only suggestion could be, and it may sound a bit sneaky, but if you think that, you know, the relationship is on the rocks and you might be separating soon or whatever, that might be the good time to get your policies reviewed, maybe before you fully separate it officially, and go, hey, how about we do, you know, different policies, change the ownership while you're still amicable.
SPEAKER_01
That's yeah, I think really that's the only option to if you're worried about it being acrimonious, yeah. That's probably the best bet. And look, end of the day, your advisor is there to help you if you say to them you're worried about the ownership. I mean, they're not gonna share it with your partner, like the reasons why you you can be open with them. I'm not gonna like if someone came to me and said that, I'm not gonna go, hey, your wife said this or your husband said this, you know. She's leaving you. That's why we're doing this policy. You know, we do what's in the best interest of the client. Doesn't matter where they are in their life and what they're doing. If end of day, that's something they need done for a reason they don't want shared, then that's what we do.
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, that's a really hard one. The reason I I thought it would be a really good topic because I was talking to someone and they said they had a friend that separated and then had cancer. And unfortunately, she couldn't get a new policy at all. Yeah. And the old policy was still in joint names with her ex-partner that wouldn't sign it off. So, yeah, so that sort of brought this issue to light for me, thinking how many other people are out there that may have joint policies that they haven't sorted out. But also, what you've got to think about if you're amicable, maybe you still want to keep the joint policy if you've got kids. Exactly. Yeah. Because then it's the other thing.
Like it pays out to your ex, but it's for the kids.
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, yeah. So it's sort of like don't just go and cancel everything just because you separated. Like definitely get the review and figure out what do you need if X happens or Z happens or Y happens.
SPEAKER_01
And even then, like even if it's not an issue with the ownership, you don't want to but just don't go and cancel it because you're separating or divorcing, because your life has changed. So your policy, like I mean, there might be reductions to be made, there might be top-ups to be made because of the change as well. It's not just the ownership that's an issue, it's all of the other stuff because your life is a massive shift.
SPEAKER_00
Because I see a lot of Facebook posts recently where people are saying, I've just separated, you know, looking for a new cover. You know, is
this company good or that company good? And again, like every time I see advice on Facebook, it really makes me sad because I don't think people realize it's free to talk to us. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01
I've had multiple people say, Oh, how much does it cost for this advice? Maybe we should charge. Maybe we should just charge.
SPEAKER_00
Well, some advisors have started doing that. But like, guys, if you're listening to this, you know, we do not charge a cent to sit down and review your policies. Don't ask your Facebook friends, don't ask ChatGPT because what you need is individual to you. You cannot get an individual advice to you based on people's opinions on Facebook. What could be good for one person cannot be good for the other.
SPEAKER_01
And also, who knows where they got their information from as well. Well, if it's another friend they've told them something who's told them something, it could be the completely wrong advice. And also, even if your policy is not with us, we can still help. Like we can still review your policy, we can still get the information, we can still help. So it's not you don't have to already be a client with us.
SPEAKER_00
Like it blows my mind. You know, you you're asking information about your body, your health. You're like your biggest asset is you and you want people's like strangers' opinions. Like that just blows my mind. It does not compute going, come on, you know, and don't listen to that Uncle Bob at the barbecue. Yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_01
That's the thing, and it is nothing against listening to family, but the opinions of your family. I mean, things have changed so much from when our parents were younger or our grandparents or whatever it is. So much has changed everywhere, but in particular with insurance as well. Like what might have been relevant to them 20 years ago if they went through something similar is not going to be relevant to someone going through it now.
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, because like every now and then I still get people asking me whether there is a buy out insurance policy. Oh, yeah. Where what is it called? That was the the thingy life where you would get the money.
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, life term or something. Yeah, yeah. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00
So you could be paying for insurance and then at the end you could always cash it out or something like that. But it doesn't work like that anymore. There are no policies like that.
SPEAKER_01
No, they got rid of them. The only ones left are the ones that are like people that are rather aged that still have the policies from way back when they were babies. Meah, pretty much, or some of the insurance companies that got rid of it just actually paid people out and got rid of the policies. Yeah. Because it's not a thing anymore.
SPEAKER_00
Yeah. So if you're listening to this and uh a lot of bells are going in your head, going, Oh my god, I don't remember the last time I reviewed my policy, or I know of someone that really needs it
because they've just gone through a change by either separating or having a baby or changing jobs. Like all of those events are you know, warranty. Well, warranted. Warranted, yeah. Warranty, warranted. This is where my warranted events for us to sit down with you and review those policies. So please reach out. Don't be shy. Yeah? Yep, absolutely. Thank you so much, Rebecca. Nice to have you. Nice to be here.
