A lot's changed since 1973 but our commitment to you hasn't.
Best-in-market support for advisers the focus for Fidelity Life.
By Bronwyn Kirwan, Chief Sales & Service Officer.
At Fidelity Life we’re driven by our purpose to give New Zealanders certainty to enjoy a more rewarding life, and are focused on our goal of protecting even more New Zealanders.
When financial adviser Gordon Watson and his wife Shirley established Fidelity Life in 1973, they did so with a firm belief in the value of financial advice. And that belief still holds true today. We’re designing our business around what our customers tell us – and they’re clearly telling us they value financial advice.
Given where we’ve come from and what our customers are saying, it’s not surprising that for 49 years and counting, advisers have provided the vast majority of our business. Our relationships with advisers, alongside our other distribution partners, have been key to Fidelity Life becoming New Zealand’s largest locally owned life insurer and now the second biggest overall.
We don’t take that loyalty for granted and advisers remain critical to delivering on our purpose and goal. That’s why we’re on a mission to deliver best-in-market support to advisers - and having the right people in the right roles is key to our mutual success.
Business Managers in your neighbourhood.
Our experienced and knowledgeable BM team are based where you are, from the upper north to the lower south. They know the challenges and opportunities you’re facing inside-out and will ensure you’re equipped with the solutions and tools you need to succeed.
Since October last year, we’ve been adding to our BM team.
Kirsty Michell
Key Account Managers to make doing business with us easier.
We value the relationships we have with loyal advisers and acknowledge their special status with us by providing them with additional support in the form of dedicated Key Account Managers.
We’ve added new leadership to this very important team, while adding also to the number of Key Account Managers available to support those who partner with us to protect their customers.
Back up from an experienced leadership team.
Our Business Managers and Key Account Managers have the support of a strong leadership team behind them.
I started my career as a financial adviser and have worked in a number of life insurance distribution and marketing roles overseas. I became CEO of a new-model (at the time!) corporatised advice business back home in New Zealand before heading overseas again to work for the world’s largest reinsurer.
Having worked from one end of the value chain to the other, I speak with conviction when I say that the acquisition and retention fundamentals of the advised channel are yet to be beaten by any other channel. The numbers don’t lie – customers get better outcomes when they work with an adviser.(1) And for the best advice businesses, the future is an incredibly bright one.
Mel Beattie and Trecia Brown are two other important leaders on our team.
Mel started with us last year as Head of Strategic Alliances and her strong start resulted in a speedy promotion to Head of Distribution. A critical role, Mel is responsible for ensuring all our channels are performing, both individually and as an integrated mix, and continue to align with our end-to-end customer focus. Continuing to evolve our adviser proposition is a key focus for Mel and her team.
Trecia needs no introduction! As a recognised industry leader in professional development, Trecia heads up our Solutions and Services team. Trecia’s focus is to help advisers stay one step ahead in the face of near-constant change - both in our industry and in the broader business environment. Our flagship Building Better Businesses programme continues to break new ground, and Trecia is also building a solutions practice for advice technology to help advisers build high performing, digitally-optimised businesses.
April 2022
Bronwyn Kirwan
Trecia Brown
Exciting times ahead!
There’s plenty to look forward to as our transformation progresses and our adviser proposition continues to evolve.
Thanks for your ongoing support, we really appreciate it. While we’ve come a long way together, we know there’s always more that can be done to keep building on our valued partnerships with you.
We’d love to hear your feedback and ideas, so please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me or one of the team.