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Chubb Life vs Asteron Life
Both write the core risk range. If you already hold cover with either — including an older Cigna policy now with Chubb Life — the first comparison is against your existing wording, not against a new quote.
Last reviewed 4 September 2026 · Written and checked by the Best Life Insurance editorial team · How we get paid
In short
- Both operate across life, trauma, TPD and income protection.
- Cigna’s New Zealand life business became Chubb Life, so older Cigna policies now sit with this insurer on their original terms.
- Chubb Life also underwrites Southern Cross Life & Living, so it may appear twice on a shortlist under different brands.
- Legacy wordings are sometimes more generous than current ones — compare before replacing anything.
- Pass-back decides whether later wording improvements reach a policy already in force.
- Replacing cover means re-underwriting at your current age and health, with everything that implies.
What this is, plainly
Chubb Life and Asteron Life are both licensed New Zealand life insurers writing life, trauma, TPD and income protection. Two facts about Chubb Life are worth knowing before you build a shortlist: it underwrites Southern Cross Life & Living Insurance, and Cigna’s New Zealand life business became Chubb Life.
For anyone already holding cover, that second fact changes the shape of the exercise. You are not choosing between two new quotes. You are deciding whether to keep a contract you already have, whose terms were set years ago, or replace it with something current. Those are different questions, and the second one carries a risk the first does not.
Replacing means a new application, underwritten at your current age and current health. Anything diagnosed since the original application can be loaded or excluded on the new policy, and any favourable term in the old wording is gone.
The six things that actually differ
If you hold existing cover, work through these before you look at a new quote.
| What differs | What to ask | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Legacy wording | How does my existing wording compare with the current product on terminal illness, trauma definitions and TPD? | Older wordings are sometimes more generous. Replacing on price alone can lose you cover you cannot buy back. |
| Pass-back | Does either insurer apply later wording improvements to policies already in force, and is that promised or discretionary? | Where it exists, some of the improvements you were about to switch for may already apply to you. |
| Terminal illness | 12 months’ or 24 months’ certified life expectancy on each wording? | It is one of the easiest differences to check and one of the most consequential. |
| Trauma buy-back | Is a buy-back available to reinstate life cover after an accelerated trauma claim, and on what terms? | Without one, a trauma claim permanently reduces the life cover your family relies on. |
| Income protection offsets | How is ACC weekly compensation treated, and is there a booster or offset-free threshold? | The offset clause is the gap between the headline benefit and the money that actually arrives. |
| Dispute scheme | Which dispute resolution scheme does each insurer belong to? | It is the free, independent escalation route if a claim is declined, and you should know it before you need it. |
Not sure what cover you actually need?
That is the question an adviser is there to answer. Tell us your situation and a licensed New Zealand adviser will compare the market and come back with a written recommendation — including where you can cut cover you do not need.
No cost to you and no obligation. General information only — not personalised financial advice.
What to watch for
These are the details that decide whether the cover does what you expected. Read them before you compare on price.
- That a brand change does not alter the terms of a policy already in force.
- That any exclusion or loading on an old schedule may be reviewable after years of stability.
- That you should never cancel existing cover until replacement cover is issued and accepted in writing.
- Whether Chubb Life already appears on your shortlist under the Southern Cross Life brand.
- Whether a premium increase you have noticed is the ordinary age-related or indexation increase rather than anything to do with a brand change.
Where an adviser makes a difference
Every New Zealand insurer writes life and living cover to its own wording, and the words are where the money is. Two policies that look identical on price can pay very differently when it matters. Closing that gap is the entire job of an adviser.
- An adviser quotes both insurers on matched terms — same sum insured, same structure, same waiting and benefit periods — which is the only way the numbers mean anything.
- Where a health history is not straightforward, an adviser can pre-assess it anonymously with both insurers before any formal application exists, so an unfavourable answer never lands on your record.
- Policy fees and multi-benefit discounts mean the cheaper per-benefit rate is often not the cheaper household total. An adviser models the total.
- An adviser can obtain your existing wording and read it against a current one, which is the comparison that actually decides whether to switch.
- Where an old exclusion relates to a long-stable condition, an adviser can ask the underwriter to review it rather than starting again elsewhere.
There are three ways to buy life cover in New Zealand, and they are not equivalent. You can buy direct from one insurer, which means you see one product range and one underwriting appetite. You can buy through your bank, which usually means a single insurer’s product sold under the bank’s brand, often with narrower definitions. Or you can go through an adviser, who quotes several insurers at once and is required to put your interests first.
The premium you pay is the same either way. Insurers build adviser commission into their pricing whether or not an adviser is involved, so going direct does not get you a discount — it just removes the person whose job is to argue your corner at application and at claim time.
- An adviser can see which insurer is currently taking your health history on standard terms, and which one will load or exclude it.
- An adviser can structure cover across two insurers if that produces a better outcome than putting everything with one.
- An adviser handles the underwriting back-and-forth, and is the person who chases the claim when a family is least able to.
- An adviser has to document why the recommendation suits you, which is a written record you can hold them to.
What happens if you get in touch
We are a referral service, not an insurer. We do not quote premiums and we do not sell policies. What we do is put you in front of one licensed New Zealand adviser who can compare the market properly.
- 1
You tell us what you are looking at
The form takes about a minute. Nobody asks for your medical history on a web form — that conversation happens with the adviser, properly, and only once you have decided to proceed.
- 2
An adviser calls you
A licensed New Zealand adviser talks through your situation: who depends on you, what you owe, what you already have in place, and what you are actually worried about.
- 3
They compare the market
The adviser quotes across the major insurers, checks which of them will take your health history on the best terms, and puts the options side by side in writing.
- 4
You decide, in your own time
There is no obligation and no cost to you. If the answer is that you already have enough cover, a good adviser will tell you that.
Frequently asked questions
Should I move an old Cigna or Chubb Life policy to Asteron Life?
Only after a written comparison of what you gain and what you give up. Replacing means a new application underwritten at your current age and health, so anything diagnosed since the original application can be loaded or excluded, and any favourable term in the old wording disappears. Never cancel the existing policy until the new one is issued and accepted.
Does a brand change affect what my policy covers?
No. The wording and schedule you were issued form a contract, and a change of ownership or brand does not entitle an insurer to reduce a benefit or reinterpret a definition. What can still change is the premium, in the ways your wording already permitted — age-related stepped increases, CPI indexation, and any repricing right over a class of policies.
How do I compare a policy I bought years ago with a new quote?
Put the two wordings side by side on the clauses that decide claims: terminal illness definition, the trauma definitions for the major conditions, the TPD definition and conversion age, and the income protection offset clause. Then compare price. If the old wording is equivalent or better, the case for switching usually collapses.
What is pass-back and does it apply to older policies?
Pass-back is an insurer applying later improvements in its wording to policies already in force, where the change is not to the policyholder’s detriment. Where it exists it can mean an older policy has quietly kept up with current definitions. Ask for the specific clause rather than a general assurance, because it is not universal.
Is my old policy likely to be worse than a new one?
Not automatically, and often the reverse. Wordings change in both directions, and some older contracts contain terms no longer offered. The only way to know is to read both. What is certain is that a new policy is underwritten on your current health, which an old one is not.