Meet Chubb Life’s newest Business Partnership Manager, Jared Van de Geest

Jared Van de Geest is new to his current job, but he's no stranger to Chubb Life. In fact, he reckons he might be the longest-serving person in the Christchurch office, having joined as a wide-eyed part-time bank teller at ANZ 11 years ago while finishing his master's degree. 

From there, a range of roles and career twists and turns have kept him busy, including running his own business and a recent stint in quality assurance and risk. It’s all useful grounding for a new BPM job that puts him back on the front line, working directly with Advisers and exactly where he wants to be. 

He admits he might not have all the answers straight away, but if there’s one thing hes clear on, it’s that listening is better than talking. 

"My Opa always told me two ears, one mouth," he says. "It's not about me sitting there telling Advisers how to do their job. It's going to them and asking, what do you need from me and from Chubb to help you write more business and protect more Kiwis? That's the crux of it."

Having spent time as an Adviser himself, Jared knows exactly why the role matters, pointing to New Zealand's persistent underinsurance problem as the reason Advisers are such a critical touchpoint for Kiwis. 

He's candid, too, about why insurance is such a hard sell compared with lending. "When I did mortgages, my phone never stopped ringing. People wanted the debt, because they wanted the house or the holiday. When I moved into insurance, it flipped completely. I had to chase people, because there's nothing tangible in the room with them." 

That's where he sees Advisers doing their most important work: positioning the conversation, and helping clients confront the "what if" they'd rather not think about.

Born in Nelson, with a Dunedin-raised wife and now settled in Christchurch, he's looking forward to getting to know the South Island advice community - one he already suspects is "big, but small" in the best possible way.

Outside of work, life currently revolves around his six-month-old son. "Any parent can relate," he says. "No two days are the same, I'm learning everything from scratch, same as a new job! But loving it." Once a keen skier, he says that’s on hold for the foreseeable, unless Chubb fancies organising a work trip…

And safe travels, Ian Greig. After five years as Chubb's Christchurch-based BPM, 13 years as a BPM overall, plus a good decade before that as an Adviser, Ian is heading back to the UK. Aberdeen-born, he's swapping Christchurch for Yorkshire and, eventually, Edinburgh, alongside his partner Steph (plus Clove the cat and Zoro the dog, at a cool $12,000 to relocate the furry friends).

Ian arrived in New Zealand 23 years ago and has spent almost exactly half that time as an Adviser and half in the corporate BPM seat, moving into the role after the Christchurch earthquakes. Ask him about his time at Chubb and he doesn't hesitate: "The last five years has been the most enjoyable role I've ever had. The culture in Christchurch is pretty special, and there’s a genuine sense of camaraderie in the office.” 

His favourite part of the job has always been working with the Advisers. "Fifteen appointments a week in front of Advisers is what I love. I'm not doing my job properly if I'm stuck in the office." 

Having spent time on both sides of the desk, Ian has plenty of thoughts on what he would tell his younger self if he could go back to the beginning of his career. "The start and the end of all of this is ‘the why’, he says. "If I'd focused from day one on my client's why, instead of telling them what I thought they needed, I'd have been better at this from the start. I tried to guess what mattered to people rather than asking them and really listening."

For Ian, that meant reframing the conversation away from products and towards purpose. 

"It's not about a pile of bricks or a car. It's about the people you're doing it all for," he says. "Once a client understands that it's all about the important people in their lives, of course they're going to want to protect that. Focus on your client's why, always, always, always." 

After 40 years in the workforce (Ian, not Steph!), the pair have decided to step off the "hamster wheel" in favour of friends, family, travel and, as he puts it, "fun-employment not unemployment - hopefully never the full nine to five again." 

The adult kids are staying on in NZ to do their own thing, but Ian knows Kiwi family and friends will be quick to come and visit once they've settled into their new home. And he’s even got his travel list sorted already. “From Edinburgh I can fly to Copenhagen for £34 return, Paris for £45 return, and Majorca for £60 return. And why not?! Life's too short not to have adventures!”