Disclosure Statement

Licensing information

The New Zealand Automobile Association Incorporated (NZAA) (FSP41189) holds a Financial Advice Provider (FAP) licence issued by the Financial Markets Authority, meaning we are licensed to provide a financial advice service. NZAA can provide financial advice to you direct, or through its nominated representatives. 

Nature and scope of the advice

NZAA and our nominated representatives (we) only provide financial advice in relation to home, contents, and vehicle insurance underwritten by AA Insurance Limited (AA Insurance).

We are unable to provide financial advice in relation to any other products or offer comparisons with the insurance cover anyone else offers or provides, and any advice we provide will only take into account the information you provide us at the time.

This means the scope of the advice we provide is limited. It is designed to ensure that any insurance you arrange through us as a result of our financial advice is suitable for your needs, as communicated to us when we provide our advice, without going any further.

The following types of insurance are also available from us:

• Life insurance underwritten by Asteron Life Limited;
• Health insurance underwritten by nib NZ Limited; and
• Travel and Pet insurance underwritten by The Hollard Insurance Company Pty Ltd.

We will not make any recommendations or give any opinions in relation to buying or cancelling or retaining any of the above insurance products. Instead, we can provide you with information about their features to help you make your own mind up about what cover you think is right for you.

Reliability History

NZAA and any of its nominated representatives have not been subject to a reliability event. A reliability event is something that might materially influence you in deciding whether to seek financial advice from NZAA and its nominated representatives. As an example, it would include a successful regulatory action against NZAA or its nominated representatives relating to the financial services we provide.

Fees, commissions and other conflicts of interest

We do not charge fees, expenses, or any other amount for any financial advice we provide.

Except in respect of policies underwritten by AA Insurance, NZAA receives a commission when a customer takes out any of the insurance products referred to above. The commission is payable to NZAA by the relevant insurer and is generally a percentage of the premium you pay.

NZAA does not accept any other commission from the insurers we deal with, although we do benefit from a share of any profits our related company AA Insurance makes each year.

We have several systems and controls in place to ensure that the conflicts of interest inherent in commissions are managed. For example, we regularly review the products we offer customers to ensure they remain fit for purpose, and our employees receive training on insurance products to ensure it is sold appropriately.

To ensure our nominated representatives prioritise our clients’ interests above their (and our) own, we also follow an advice process that is designed to ensure any financial advice we provide is suitable for the circumstances in which it is given, recognising the very limited nature and scope of the advice we provide.

All our nominated representatives undergo training about how to manage conflicts of interest. NZAA reviews its compliance programme annually to ensure our high standards of client service are being followed.

As employees of the NZAA, our nominated representatives receive a salary and are eligible to receive a bonus payment if a certain level of overall performance is achieved by the NZAA.

Bonus payments are measured on achievement of a range of factors including the quality of member interactions, compliance with regulatory requirements, the accuracy of processing member requests, the satisfaction of members with the way we sell products, and the number of products we sell to members.  The bonus payment that can be achieved if all the target measures are fully met ranges between 5 -20% of the employee’s overall salary package.

Duties information

We 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 reasonable steps to make sure our advice isn’t materially influenced by our own interests, or the interests of our nominated representatives, or any other person connected with the giving of the advice;
• exercise care, diligence, and skill when providing you with advice;
• meet applicable 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).

 In addition, as a FAP the NZAA is required to: 

• ensure our nominated representatives comply with all the duties listed above; and
• have appropriate processes and controls in place to limit and regulate financial advice provided by our nominated representatives.

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

Complaints handling and dispute resolution

If you are not satisfied with our financial advice service, you can make a complaint by:

• Visiting one of our centres;
• Visiting the NZAA website; or
• Calling our contact centre at 0800 500 444.

We will follow our internal complaint process:

• Where possible, your complaint will be resolved there and then. If further investigation is required, we will advise you of an expected resolution time. We will also give you sufficient information to ensure you can enquire about the progress of your complaint.
• If we are unable to resolve your complaint there and then, your complaint will be formally acknowledged within 2 business days. We may need to contact you to further understand your complaint or obtain additional details. NZAA will keep you informed of progress and the expected resolution timeframe, or if the problem is of a very complex nature and will exceed the initially anticipated resolution timeframe.

If we cannot resolve your complaint, or you are not satisfied with the way we propose to do so, you can contact the Insurance & Financial Services Ombudsman Scheme (IFSO). IFSO provides a free, independent dispute resolution service, and that service may help investigate or resolve your complaint. You can refer your complaint to the IFSO if you have a letter of deadlock, or more than 2 months have passed since you first made your complaint, and you no longer wish to keep working with us. If we issue a letter of deadlock, you’ll have 3 months to refer your complaint to the IFSO if you wish. You can contact IFSO via their website www.ifso.nz, via email info@ifso.nz or by calling 0800 888 202.