nib income protection insurance review: A guide for Kiwis

nib NZ: A brief company overview

nib New Zealand is part of nib Group, one of Australasia’s largest and fastest-growing providers of health, travel, and life insurance. Originally established in 1952 as a hospital fund for steelworkers in New South Wales, the company has since expanded significantly, entering the New Zealand market in 2012 through the acquisition of Tower Medical Insurance Limited and then OnePath’s medical portfolio in 2015.

Today, nib supports over 1.6 million residents, students, and workers across Australia and New Zealand with a range of accessible, affordable insurance options. Its New Zealand arm continues to grow, most recently with the acquisition of Kiwi Insurance Limited. 

Financially, nib NZ remains strong, with a premium revenue of $218 million in the first half of the 2025 financial year and an A (Strong) financial strength rating from S&P Global Ratings. 

Policywise works with the full suite of nib Ultimate insurance products, including life, medical, trauma, mortgage protection, and total and permanent disability cover. In this review, we’ll look at their Ultimate Income Protection plan in detail.

What is income protection insurance?

Income protection insurance provides monthly payments if you’re unable to work due to illness or injury. By replacing a portion of your income, it helps you stay on top of living costs, like rent or mortgage, groceries, bills, healthcare, and other household expenses, while you recover.

Even though New Zealand’s ACC (Accident Compensation Corporation) covers injuries, it doesn’t cover most illnesses. Income protection fills this gap, providing financial support if you’re off work due to a medical condition like cancer, a heart condition, or any other non-accident-related illness.

nib income protection: Features and benefits

nib’s Ultimate Income Protection Insurance provides monthly payments of up to $30,000 (less other income) if a serious injury or illness stops you from working. 

Your cover stays in place wherever you are in the world. You can also enjoy insurance premium discounts when you bundle nib Ultimate Income Protection with other eligible covers.

Here’s a breakdown of how the cover works and the features that make it a strong choice for Kiwis looking to protect their income.

Cover structure options

Choose between agreed value and indemnity cover:

• Agreed value: Pays a fixed monthly amount (less other income), even if your income has increased or dropped by the time you make a claim.
• Indemnity value: Pays the lesser of the monthly sum assured or 75% of your pre-disability income (less other income).

Waiting period and benefit options

You can decide how long you want to wait before payments start, and how long the payments last.

Waiting period

The waiting period is the amount of time you need to be off work due to illness or injury before your income protection payments begin. nib lets you choose the waiting period you prefer: 4, 8, 13, 26, 52 or 104 weeks.

Benefit period

The benefit period is the length of time you’ll receive monthly payments while you're unable to work. With nib’s income protection cover, you can choose a benefit period of 2 years, 5 years, or to age 65 or 70 (for some occupation types). 

Your payments will continue until the earliest of these happens:

• You’re well enough to return to work
• Your chosen benefit period ends
• You pass away
• Or your policy ends.

Base benefits

• Total disability benefit: Pays monthly benefits (up to $30,000) in advance if you’re totally disabled and unable to work due to illness or injury.
• Partial disability benefit: Pays monthly benefits in arrears if you’re partially disabled from illness or injury and can’t work either more than 75% of your pre-disability working hours or earn more than 75% of your pre-disability income.
• Special care benefit: Covers up to six months of full-time home care (up to $2,500 per month) if you’re totally disabled.
• Vocational retraining, rehabilitation and support benefit: Reimburses the cost of retraining, rehab, or support services, up to 24 times the monthly amount insured.
• Childcare support benefit: Covers extra childcare costs for up to six months (up to $800 per month per dependant child under the age of 14) while you're receiving a disability benefit.
• Recurring claim benefit: Waives the waiting period and resumes your monthly benefit if you’re disabled again from the same or a related condition within 12 months of your last claim ending.
• Return to work bonus benefit: Provides a bonus payment equivalent to three times your monthly benefit if you’ve been on claim for 12 months or more, have recovered, and returned to work for at least 6 months, working or earning at least 75% of your pre-disability level (available only for policies with benefit periods of 5 years, to age 65, or to age 70).
• Return to home benefit: Reimburses the cost of a standard economy flight for you and a support person to return to New Zealand or Australia (up to $10,000) if you become totally disabled overseas.
• Emergency transport benefit: Covers the cost of emergency medical transport.
• Counselling benefit: Reimburses the cost of professional counselling (up to $2,500 per person insured) to support you and your loved ones if you are receiving a total disability benefit.
• Bereavement assistance benefit: Offers prompt financial support (three times the monthly amount insured) to your family to help cover funeral costs if you pass away.
• Bed confinement benefit: Provides financial support if you're totally disabled and confined to bed for at least three consecutive nights - either in hospital or at home under a health professional’s supervision - during your waiting period.

Optional benefits

nib also offers a few optional benefits you can include as add-ons to your policy for extra support.

• Income booster benefit option: For the first three months of your claim, you’ll receive an extra one-third of your monthly benefit while you’re receiving a total or partial disability benefit.
• Retirement contribution benefit option: Pays your KiwiSaver contributions while you're receiving a total disability benefit.
• Mental and neural health restriction option: Offers a premium discount if you limit cover for mental and neurological health claims to a maximum of two years.

Please note: Terms and conditions, as well as exclusions, apply to all nib products. It's important to review your policy carefully to understand the specific terms of cover, benefits, and any limitations. This ensures that you have a clear understanding of the protection provided by each product. If you have any questions or would like some help finding the right policy, book a callback with a Policywise adviser; it's fast and free.

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nib offers more ways to strengthen your cover

While income protection insurance is a great start, it’s only one part of a solid protection plan. nib offers a range of other insurance products that can work alongside your income cover to give you even broader peace of mind.

Here’s a quick overview of nib’s other insurance options:

• nib health insurance: Ultimate Health, Ultimate Health Max, and Easy Health give you comprehensive protection, covering private hospital care, surgery, and cancer treatments, with options to cover GP visits, dental expenses, and other costs. 
• nib Ultimate Life Insurance: Offers a lump sum payment if you die or are diagnosed with a terminal illness, helping your loved ones cover major and recurring expenses, like funeral costs, rent or mortgage repayments, living expenses, children’s education, and debt payments.
• nib Ultimate Trauma Insurance: Pays a lump sum if you suffer a serious injury or medical condition, like cancer, heart attack, stroke, organ transplant, or paralysis, to help with recovery and financial stability. You can buy it as a standalone cover or an accelerated benefit to be deducted from your life insurance cover.
• Ultimate Total & Permanent Disability Insurance: Provides a lump sum payment if you become totally and permanently disabled due to illness or injury, and either cannot return to work, are unable to perform activities of daily living, or suffer an irreversible impairment specified in the policy. You can get TPD cover as a standalone plan or accelerated against your life cover.
• Ultimate Mortgage Protection Insurance: Assists with your home loan repayments or replaces a portion of your lost income if you're unable to work due to an illness or injury-related disability.
• Company health insurance: Supports your team’s wellbeing by providing generous cover for private surgical and non-surgical treatments and cancer care.

Do you need nib income protection cover in New Zealand?

Life in New Zealand isn’t cheap, and your income is what keeps everything ticking along. It pays the bills, puts food on the table, and funds your future plans. But how would you manage if you were suddenly unable to work due to illness or injury?

That’s where nib’s income protection cover can make all the difference. Here’s why it matters:

• Fills gaps left by the ACC: ACC helps primarily with accident-related injuries, not illnesses. If you get very ill and can’t work, you won’t receive compensation from ACC, but your nib monthly income protection benefits will be there to fill the gap.
• You still have financial obligations even though you're sick: Your rent, mortgage, groceries, and utility bills won’t stop just because you’re unwell. In fact, day-to-day expenses are continuing to rise. In the 12 months to the December 2024 quarter, the average household’s living costs in New Zealand increased by 3.0%. Income protection insurance can provide monthly support to help you manage these ongoing costs while you focus on getting better and going back to work.
• It protects your future and your family’s: Your income doesn’t just help you get by today - it also funds your dream future. Income protection helps you stay on track with your long-term goals, like paying off your home, supporting your kids, or saving for retirement. It’s peace of mind that your loved ones will be looked after, even if you can’t work.

Safeguard your income with nib’s trusted cover through Policywise

Policywise is a 100% free service which tells you which health, life, and disability insurance provider best fits your needs. We offer fast, comprehensive, and easy-to-understand comparisons of all leading providers and a simple summary clearly recommending which insurer is best for your situation.

Not all insurance policies are the same. Policywise can help you sort out the duds, avoid the lemons, understand the fine print and exclusions, and get the right insurance for you and your family.

We make the important decision of where to buy your insurance super easy. We’ll answer your questions, provide experienced advice and quotes, and manage all the back and forth throughout the application process. Taking out your cover through us means you'll have our lifetime support and claims advocacy, and we'll help you negotiate a positive outcome at claim time. We can also take care of lodging any claims on your behalf and back you up if the going gets tough.

Check out the reviews on our homepage for how other New Zealanders have found our service, because now is the time to get your income protection cover sorted. Give your family or someone you love the most outstanding financial support possible. Book a 5-minute callback with Policywise today; our service is fast and free.