AA Life Insurance has launched a suite of living insurance products in New Zealand, adding income protection, serious illness, and serious injury cover to its existing life, funeral, accidental death, and cancer care offerings.
The new covers have been developed with Asteron Life and are being sold direct to consumers under the AA Life brand. The living benefits are intended to provide protection against income disruption and health‑related events during a policyholder’s lifetime, alongside AA Life’s existing death and specified‑event products. AA’s head of financial services, Ben Rose (pictured), said the broader range is intended to give AA members and customers additional options for managing financial risk. “Our modern suite of AA Life Insurance products helps protect our AA members and AA customers’ future,” Rose said. The products are offered through a digital sales platform that AA Life has updated to support the expanded range. Rose said the company focused on simplifying information presented to customers at the point of sale. “We’ve worked hard to make our offering easy to understand and with help text along the way so customers are clear on the cover they are buying,” Rose said.
The living insurance range is part of AA Life’s direct‑to‑consumer strategy. The insurer says feedback from frontline staff, who interact with members and customers across AA’s channels, informed changes to the purchase journey. “We’ve taken feedback on board from our AA team who speak to AA customers every day, to create an experience that means fewer barriers like medical checks, confusing terms, and long application processes,” Rose said.
AA Life is also using the launch to restate its recent claims experience. “In the last year, 99.4% of all claims received for AA Life Insurance life, cancer care, and accidental death policies have been paid, ensuring we’re there for our members and customers when they need us most,” Rose said. He added that the products sit within AA’s broader approach of working with external specialists in financial services. “We want more Kiwis to protect what’s most important to them, and we’re proud to be backed by a partner that not only makes the sign‑up process clear and transparent, but has a strong track record,” he said.
All AA Life policyholders continue to receive access to AA Life Insurance Connected Care, an online health and wellbeing service that sits alongside the insurance products. The service is described as confidential and available to eligible family members of the policyholder. “This gives you and your eligible family members access to expert advice, when you need it. Whether that’s a quick chat with a New Zealand GP, a second opinion from a global medical specialist or guidance from a mental health professional,” Rose said. The combination of risk cover and access to virtual medical and wellbeing support reflects a broader move in the market toward integrating insurance with health‑related services.
The FSC’s Life Insurance Industry Spotlight for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2025, provides further context for insurers adding or adjusting product lines. More than 60% of total life premiums are attributed to customers aged 46 to 65. Since 2020, that age band’s share of premiums has fallen by two percentage points, while the 41‑45 and 66‑70 age groups have each gained two percentage points. This indicates a gradual shift in the age profile of premium contributions.
Total life premiums reached $3.26 billion in the September 2025 quarter, a new high. Over the same quarter, total covers in force declined by 0.3% and total accepted claims decreased by 4.7%. Lapses increased by 9.7% in the quarter, returning to a pattern of June and September peaks after an unusual 1% decrease in the previous quarter. These trends highlight a market in which premium volumes are rising, coverage levels and lapse dynamics are changing, and underinsurance indicators remain present. AA Life’s move into living insurance, delivered via a direct channel and supported by a health and wellbeing service, is being introduced into this environment.
