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Fidelity Life vs Chubb Life
Both were quoted at the lower end of MoneyHub’s June 2026 table for several profiles. That is a reason to look at them, and no reason at all to stop looking at the wording.
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 through advisers.
- On MoneyHub’s June 2026 $500,000 comparison, quoted before discounts, both appeared at the lower end for several profiles.
- Price position changes with age and smoking status — the order for a 55-year-old smoker is not the order for a 30-year-old non-smoker.
- Chubb Life underwrites Southern Cross Life & Living and writes the former Cigna New Zealand life business.
- Trauma reinstatement rules decide whether a second, unrelated condition is covered after a first claim.
- Underwriting appetite is unpublished at both and moves with reinsurance treaties.
What this is, plainly
Fidelity Life and Chubb Life are both licensed New Zealand life insurers writing the core risk range through advisers. On MoneyHub’s June 2026 comparison of annual premiums for $500,000 of life cover, quoted before discounts, Fidelity Life was listed lowest of the nine insurers shown for the 30, 40 and 45-year-old male non-smoker profiles and Chubb Life second; for the 55-year-old male smoker profile Chubb Life was listed lowest and Fidelity Life mid-table.
That reversal is the useful part of the data. It shows in a single source that price rankings are profile-dependent, and it should stop anyone concluding from one row that one insurer is simply cheaper than the other.
It also cannot tell you the thing you most need to know: how each insurer would treat your particular medical history, and how each wording behaves at claim. Those come from a pre-assessment and from the policy documents.
The six things that actually differ
Match the quotes, then compare these six from the wordings.
| What differs | What to ask | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Price across profiles | What is quoted for my exact age, smoking status and sum insured, before and after any discounts, at both insurers? | Published rankings reverse between profiles, so only your own matched quotes mean anything. |
| Level premium expiry | Which level expiry ages are offered, and what happens at expiry — does the policy end, or convert to stepped at attained age? | A conversion at expiry can be a very large and very unwelcome jump. |
| Trauma reinstatement | After a trauma claim, can the benefit be reinstated for unrelated conditions, and what stand-down applies? | Surviving one serious condition does not protect you from another. This clause is where policies quietly differ. |
| TPD definition | Own-occupation or any-occupation, for which classes, and with what waiting period before permanence is assessed? | The definition is the product. Two policies with the same sum insured can respond very differently. |
| Income protection offsets | Exactly what income is offset — ACC, other insurance, sick leave, employer payments — and is there an offset-free threshold? | This clause decides the difference between the headline benefit and the money that arrives. |
| Pass-back | Do later wording improvements apply to a policy already in force, and is that promised or discretionary? | Medical definitions age. On a thirty-year contract, pass-back is a genuine long-term advantage. |
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.
- Whether Chubb Life already appears on your shortlist under the Southern Cross Life brand.
- Whether the comparison uses the same premium structure and expiry age on both sides.
- Whether the trauma quoted is standalone or accelerated on each side.
- Whether a stated price advantage survives to the age you actually expect to hold the cover.
- Whether any loading offered by one insurer is worth re-testing with the other.
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 will model cumulative cost to your intended holding age rather than quoting this year’s premium.
- Where you already hold a legacy policy with either insurer, an adviser can compare the old wording against the new before anything is replaced.
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
Which is cheaper, Fidelity Life or Chubb Life?
It depends on the profile, and MoneyHub’s own June 2026 data shows the order reversing: Fidelity Life was listed lowest of nine insurers for the younger non-smoker profiles, while Chubb Life was listed lowest for the 55-year-old male smoker profile. Get matched quotes for your own age, health and sum insured rather than reading a ranking across.
Do Fidelity Life and Chubb Life offer the same trauma reinstatement terms?
Reinstatement rules differ between New Zealand insurers, in whether the benefit can be reinstated at all after a claim, for which conditions, and after what stand-down. It is one of the least advertised clauses in a trauma wording and one of the most consequential, so ask for the specific text from both.
Is Chubb Life the insurer behind my old Cigna policy?
Yes. Cigna’s New Zealand life business became Chubb Life, so a policy issued under the Cigna name is now administered by Chubb Life on its original terms. Your wording and schedule remain the contract, including the sum insured, premium structure and any exclusions or loadings recorded on it.
How do I compare level premium options between these two insurers?
Ask each for the level expiry ages available, the premium at each, and — critically — what happens when the level period ends. Some policies simply end; others convert to stepped premiums at your attained age, which can be a very large jump. Ask for that answer in writing rather than relying on a summary.
Should I choose based on published comparison tables?
Use them to see the size of the spread and to build a shortlist, then stop. A published table quotes standard rates for one profile at one date, and it cannot model a loading, an exclusion or a decline. Those depend on your medical history and on each insurer’s current reinsurance arrangements.