Nature and Scope of Advice

Fees and Expenses

We do not charge you fees, expenses, or any other amount for any financial advice provided to you. We are paid by the product providers in the form of commission. However, we may charge a fee for the financial advice provided to you if you cancel a life or health insurance policy within 2 years of inception. Whether a fee will be a charged and the manner in which it will be charged will be advised at the time the advice is provided to you.

Conflicts of Interest and Incentives

We receive commissions from the providers on whose products we give financial advice. If you decide to take out insurance, the provider will pay a commission to us. The amount of the commission is based on the amount of the premium.

From time to time, product providers may also reward us for the overall business we provide to them. They may give us tickets to sports events, hampers, or other incentives.

To ensure that our financial advisers prioritise our clients’ interests above their own, we follow an advice process that ensures our recommendations are made on the basis of each client’s goals and circumstances. All our financial advisers undergo annual training about how to manage conflicts of interest. We maintain registers of conflicts of interests, and the gifts and incentives we receive. These registers are monitored and additional training is sought where necessary. Our compliance program is also subject to an annual audit.

Complaints Handling and Dispute Resolution

If you have a problem, concern, or complaint about any part of our service, please tell us so we can try to fix the problem. You may contact us using the contact details outlined on this website. Alternatively, you may contact our internal disputes service by emailing complaints@theid.co.nz.

When we receive a complaint, we will consider it following our internal complaints process below.

• We will consider your complaint and let you know how we intend to resolve it. We may need to contact you to get further information about your complaint.
• We aim to resolve complaints within 10 working days of receiving them. If we can’t, we will contact you within that time to let you know we need more time to consider your complaint.
• We will contact you by phone or email to let you know whether we can resolve your complaint and how we propose to do so.

If we cannot agree on how to fix the issue or if you decide not to use the internal complaints scheme, you can contact Financial Services Complaints Limited (FSCL). This service will cost you nothing, and will provide an independent dispute resolution service to help us resolve any disagreements. You can contact FSCL by emailing info@fscl.org.nz, calling FSCL on 0800 347257 or 04 472 3725, or in writing to PO Box 5967, Lambton Quay, Wellington 6145.

Duties Information

The Insurance Department Limited, and anyone who gives financial advice on our behalf, have duties under the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013 relating to the way that we give advice. We are required to:

• Give priority to your interests by taking all responsible steps to make sure our advice isn’t materially influenced by our own interests;
•  Exercise care, diligence, and skill in providing you with advice;
• Meet standards of competence, knowledge, and skill set by the Code of Professional Conduct for Financial Advice Services (these are designed to make sure that we have the expertise needed to provide you with advice); and
• Meet standards of ethical behaviour, conduct, and client care set by the Code of Professional Conduct for Financial Advice Services (these are designed to make sure we treat you as we should ,and give you suitable advice).

This is only a summary of the duties that we hold. More information is available by contacting us, or by visiting the Financial Markets Authority website.