Life & health
Sell Your Insurance Book of Business in New Zealand
If you are thinking about selling a life and health client book — all of it, part of it, or simply the clients you no longer actively service — this is what the process looks like and who the buyers are.
- 50+ active buyers
- Confidential process
- No seller fee
- No obligation
Who buys
Who buys life and health books in New Zealand?
There is no single type of buyer, and the obvious one is rarely the best one. We work with an established network of more than fifty parties actively looking to acquire financial advice client bases across New Zealand.
What they have in common is that they are already licensed, already servicing clients, and looking for scale rather than a first entry into the industry. What they differ on is what they will pay for, and how they want the transition handled.
Matching a book to the buyers most likely to want it is usually what moves the price — more than any negotiation on the multiple itself.
Buyers differ on
- Book size
- Region
- Client age profile
- Provider mix
- Persistency history
- Whether you stay on
- How the price is paid
What you can sell
You do not have to sell everything.
A great many advisers assume the choice is between carrying on exactly as they are and winding the business up. In practice, most of what we see sits in between.
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01
The whole book
A complete exit, usually with an agreed handover period so clients are introduced properly rather than simply transferred.
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02
Part of the book
A region, an office, a segment, or the clients you have not actively serviced in years. You keep advising the rest.
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03
One revenue stream
Advisers who have accumulated life, fire and general and KiwiSaver clients often sell one line and keep the others.
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04
A staged sale
Selling a portion now and the balance later, which can suit an adviser who wants to reduce workload before retiring outright.
Preparation
What a buyer will want to see.
None of this is needed to request an appraisal. It becomes relevant once you decide to explore a sale properly.
- In-force annual renewal revenue, by provider.
- Lapse and persistency history over recent years.
- The age profile of the client base.
- How many clients hold more than one policy.
- Whether client records and file notes are complete.
- Any commission clawback exposure still running.
- Whether the clients are contactable and expect contact.
Books that can evidence persistency price better than books that simply assert it.
Value
What is a life and health book worth?
Indicatively, around 3.5×–4.5× annual recurring renewal revenue — but persistency moves that number more than anything else, and a book with a weak lapse history will not reach the top of the range regardless of its size.
Indicative information only. Actual market value can fall above or below this range depending on persistency, client characteristics, revenue quality, transaction structure and buyer demand.
The process
How a sale actually runs.
You are not listing your business on a marketplace, and nothing is advertised at any point.
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01
Request a confidential appraisal
A short form about the shape of the book. Nothing that identifies a client, and nothing that commits you to anything.
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02
We appraise the book privately
We look at the revenue mix, size and characteristics, and give you an indicative view of value and of likely buyer interest.
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03
You decide whether to go further
Many advisers stop here and simply use the appraisal to understand where they stand. That is a perfectly good outcome.
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04
We introduce suitable buyers
If you want to proceed, we approach the buyers most likely to want your book. Your identity is not released without your approval.
Questions
Selling an insurance book: common questions.
Can I sell part of my insurance book rather than all of it?
Yes. Partial sales are common.
Advisers sell a region, a client segment, an agency code, or the clients they no longer actively service, while continuing to advise the rest. Selling part of a book is often the most practical way to reduce workload without leaving the industry.
Do I have to stop advising after I sell?
Not necessarily.
Some sellers exit completely. Others sell a portion of the book and keep advising, or stay involved for a defined transition period. What suits you is one of the first things we discuss, because it changes which buyers are a good match.
Will my clients or my insurers find out I am considering a sale?
Not through us.
Your client base is never publicly listed or advertised. Your name and business are not disclosed to any buyer without your approval. Requesting an appraisal does not put your book on the market.
What is my life and health book likely to be worth?
As an indicative starting point, life and health books in New Zealand are commonly discussed at around 3.5×–4.5× annual recurring renewal revenue, with persistency the single biggest influence on where a book sits in that range. Actual pricing can fall above or below that range.
What does it cost me to sell through The Client Base?
No brokerage, listing or success fee is charged to sellers. You may still incur your own legal and accounting costs on a transaction, as you would with any sale.
How long does an insurance book sale usually take?
It depends on the book, the buyer and how prepared the data is. The appraisal itself is quick. From there, timing is driven by how quickly you want to move, how clean the client records are, and how the transaction is structured.
Find out what your insurance book could be worth
A confidential appraisal, with no obligation to sell and no fee to you.
Submitting a request does not put your business on the market.
- 50+ active buyers
- Confidential process
- No seller fee
- No obligation