Asteron Life Trauma Cover — Review

How each NZ trauma insurer defines 'Cancer' — what stages trigger a full payout, what triggers a partial-payment, what's excluded entirely. Cancer drives ~60% of NZ trauma claims so the definition shapes most claim outcomes.

Heart attack definitions vary in troponin threshold, ECG criteria, and symptom requirements. The definition decides whether a modern troponin-detected MI counts under your policy.

Most NZ trauma policies require 24-hour residual neurological deficit confirmed by imaging — TIAs and rapidly-resolving strokes typically don't qualify. This page lists each insurer's stroke definition verbatim.

Most NZ trauma policies pay 10-25% of sum-insured for a defined list of early-stage / less-severe conditions (carcinoma in situ, angioplasty, early prostate cancer). The list and percentages vary widely.

Accelerated trauma cover reduces your underlying life sum-insured dollar-for-dollar on claim; standalone leaves it intact. Buy-back rules let you reinstate life cover after a claim — terms vary.

Buy-back reinstates underlying life cover after a trauma claim without fresh underwriting. Trauma reinstatement re-adds cover for new conditions after a partial-payment claim. Both terms vary massively.

Future-insurability rights let you increase trauma cover at defined life events (marriage, child, mortgage) without fresh medical evidence. Critical for buyers with family-history loadings.

Most NZ trauma policies offer a children's-trauma-rider add-on with a defined per-child sum-insured cap (often $50,000-$200,000). Covered conditions for children differ from adult cover.

NZ trauma insurers underwrite at application — pre-existing conditions usually result in loadings (25-200%), permanent exclusions, or declination. Disclosure rules and re-underwriting policies vary.

Self-inflicted injury, war / civil unrest, criminal acts, drug use, and certain pre-existing conditions are commonly excluded. Specific exclusion lists vary by insurer.