As the licensed insurer for Assurant’s insurance products and services in New Zealand, Virginia Surety Company, Inc. (New Zealand branch) (VSC) has developed and adopted a Fair Conduct Programme that details all the policies, processes, systems and controls it has in place to support the fair conduct principle.
The fair conduct principle ensures that we (including all our employees and intermediaries) treat customers fairly at every touch point in their customer journey with us. This applies from product and service design, through to sales, distribution, claims and complaints.
This summary is not designed or intended to provide customers with fundamental information to rely on when choosing a financial institution. The purpose of this summary is to assist customers to understand how they should be treated and to demonstrate our commitment to treating our customers fairly.
VSC’s Fair Conduct Programme is effective from 31 March 2025 and applies to all retail customers as defined in the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013. It is not applicable to wholesale customers.
Fair Conduct Principle
At VSC we are committed to always treating our customers fairly by ensuring the five elements of the fair conduct principle are considered in everything we do. VSC will:
- Pay due regard to customers’ interests
- Act ethically, transparently, and in good faith
- Assist customers to make informed decisions
- Ensure that the relevant services and associated products we provide are likely to meet the requirements and objectives of customers (when viewed as a group or segmented groups), and
- Not subject our customers to unfair pressure, tactics or undue influence.
Our Products and Services
VSC offers a range of products and services through its intermediaries including:
| Car Insurance | Comprehensive coverage for loss or damage due to fire, theft or impact, including benefits like 24/7 roadside assistance, windscreen cover and accident management services. |
| Classic Vehicle Insurance | Specialised insurance for classic cars, motorcycles, hot rods and vintage vehicles, with features like agreed value coverage and multi-vehicle discounts. |
| Motorcycle Insurance | Coverage for on-road and off-road motorbikes including apparel cover, track day cover, and 24/7 roadside assistance. |
| Mechanical Breakdown Insurance | Protection against mechanical and electrical failures and repairs. |
| Guaranteed Asset Protection (GAP) Insurance | Covers the difference between the vehicle’s market value and the amount still owed on the loan if the vehicle is declared a total loss. |
| Payment Protection Insurance | Cover for loan repayments if you are unable to make them due to, death, Terminal Illness, injury, redundancy, and bankruptcy. |
| Accidental Damage Protection / Accidental Damage & Theft Protection | Cover for portable devices like headphones, mobile phones and laptops if they are accidentally damaged and/or stolen depending on the type of cover selected. |
Our commitment to you
We review our products, services and distribution methods regularly to make sure they are fit for purpose.
We have governance frameworks in place to support regular reviews of the design, distribution, management and maintenance of our products and services. Regular and ongoing monitoring ensures our products and services remain fit for purpose, accessible to all customers and enables us to continually enhance and improve the products and services we offer.
We train our employees and intermediaries to ensure they have the skills and competency to provide our products and services.
Our employees and intermediaries undergo regular training to ensure they know and understand our products and services and so they can effectively support you. Our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics establishes clear expectations and standards that all employees must abide by to support good customer outcomes. Our intermediaries are required to understand and abide by our Suppliers Code of Conduct.
Our communications with you will be timely, clear and transparent.
At VSC, we are here to help you. You can communicate with us by phone, email or post. We will use plain language in all communications with you including on our website and in our policy wordings. All communications with you will be timely, clear, concise and written effectively to ensure we are supporting you to make informed decisions. We make product information available on our website or you can contact us to request copies of your policy documents.
We proactively manage feedback and complaints.
We acknowledge that sometimes things don’t go right and there might be times when issues connected with our product or services occur. At VSC we take feedback and complaints seriously and are committed to upholding the highest standards of fairness and transparency in our interactions with all customers.
VSC has established a complaints process designed to ensure that any concerns or issues raised by our customers are addressed promptly, effectively, and with the utmost respect.
Our approach to handling complaints emphasises clear, open communication, and a commitment to finding solutions that reflect our dedication to delivering good customer outcomes. All complaints and feedback are reviewed, managed, investigated and resolved in accordance with our internal complaints process.
If you have a complaint about our products or services, we encourage you to first speak to our staff or a manager directly responsible for that area. If your complaint cannot be resolved, you can refer it to our Internal Dispute Resolution Panel (IDR Panel) for review and the outcome of the IDR Panels review will be provided to you in writing.
You can refer your complaint to the IDR Panel in the following ways:
- By calling 0800 443 881 (Monday to Friday between 8:30am – 5:30pm New Zealand Standard Time)
- Send an email to [email protected]
- Writing to us at Virginia Surety Company, Inc. PO Box 355, Christchurch 8011 New Zealand
If you remain dissatisfied with the outcome of your complaint, you can refer the matter to the Insurance and Financial Services Ombudsman (IFSO) scheme within 2 months from the date of the IDR Panels decision.
The IFSO can be contacted by:
- Calling 0800 888 202 (free call) (Monday to Friday between 8:30am – 5pm New Zealand Standard Time)
- Emailing your complaint to [email protected], or
- Completing the online complaint form at www.ifso.nz
Governance of our Fair Conduct Programme
Our Fair Conduct Programme has been developed to be relevant and proportionate to the unique factors and characteristics of our business. Ultimate responsibility and accountability for our Fair Conduct Programme sits with the Chief Executive Officer for VSC. The Chief Executive Officer has delegated day-to-day oversight of compliance with our Fair Conduct Programme to the Asia Pacific Regional Compliance Officer.
To enable VSC’s commitment to its Fair Conduct Programme and to treating customers fairly, regular monitoring and oversight is undertaken by our internal Compliance Committee and Product Governance Committee. Both these Committees meet regularly to review and consider various metrics including outcomes of internal and external quality assurance activities, compliance assurance activities, complaints reporting, incidents and breaches, and internal and external audit findings. Outcomes of the Committee meetings are reported through to our Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee.
Our Fair Conduct Programme is reviewed at least annually by the Asia Pacific Regional Compliance Officer and any necessary amendments are reviewed and approved by the VSC Board.
Treating our customers fairly
Our customers are our priority, and our Fair Conduct Programme aims to ensure that our customers are treated fairly. We strive to do this by:
- Making sure our employees and intermediaries have the skills and resources to provide suitable products and services competently.
- Reviewing our customer communications to ensure they are clear, concise, transparent and easy to understand.
- Supporting customers in vulnerable circumstances.
- Designing our products and services to ensure they meet our customers’ requirements and objectives.
- Reviewing our distribution methods to ensure our employees and intermediaries always comply with our policies and procedures.
- Having policies and procedures in place to manage the distribution of our products and services through our intermediaries.
- Designing our commission and incentives arrangements to support good customer outcomes, and
- Providing adequate mechanisms for customer complaints and having remediation plans in place for when things go wrong.
Published: February 2025