AdviceLab Limited is a boutique insurance and financial advisory business based in Upper Hutt, serving clients across New Zealand. The company is proud to be 100% New Zealand owned and operated, built around a small, experienced team that recognises every client's situation is different.
AdviceLab's advisers are engaged directly by Wealthpoint Limited, which holds a financial advice provider licence, giving the firm access to a range of insurers and products rather than being tied to a single provider. This independence means advice isn't driven by sales quotas or incentives — instead, the team weighs product features, affordability, financial strength ratings, and each client's short and long-term goals when recommending an insurer.
The team is led by Financial Advisers and Directors Baden Phillips and Mandy Zukerman, supported by Adviser Support staff Pam Wickham and Martina McLaughlan. AdviceLab advises on Personal Insurance (covering Home & Contents, Motor & Boat, Landlord Cover, Life & Disability, and Health Cover), Business Insurance, and Rural Insurance.
Rather than a fixed office-only model, AdviceLab offers flexible meeting arrangements — from home, the office, or a cafe — and calls Wellington home while helping clients throughout New Zealand.
Insurance advice can often feel like a numbers game — a quota to fill, a policy to push. AdviceLab Limited, a boutique insurance and financial advisory business based in Upper Hutt, was built around the opposite idea: a personal service that listens first and recommends second.
AdviceLab's advisers are engaged directly by Wealthpoint Limited, which holds a financial advice provider licence. That structure gives the AdviceLab team access to a range of insurers and products, rather than being locked into recommending a single company's policies. Because the firm isn't bound by sales quotas or incentives, the team says its advice stays independent and focused on what actually suits each client — weighing product features, affordability, financial strength ratings, and a client's short and long-term goals when choosing an insurer.
AdviceLab describes itself as recognising that everyone's situation is different, working to individual needs rather than a one-size-fits-all package. The company checks in with clients regularly, and if circumstances change, works with them to redesign their protection package accordingly. Perhaps most importantly, AdviceLab says it stays involved at claim time too — advocating on a client's behalf rather than stepping back once a policy is sold. AdviceLab is proud to be 100% New Zealand owned and operated.
The firm's advice spans three main areas. Personal Insurance covers Home & Contents, Motor & Boat, Landlord Cover, Life & Disability, and Health Cover — the range of protection most individuals and families need to consider. Business Insurance covers protection needs for business owners, while Rural Insurance is tailored specifically to rural clients, reflecting a New Zealand-specific need that not every advisory firm serves.
AdviceLab is led by two Financial Advisers and Directors: Baden Phillips and Mandy Zukerman. They're supported by Adviser Support staff Pam Wickham and Martina McLaughlan (currently on maternity leave), who help manage the day-to-day client relationship alongside the advisers.
One client testimonial, from a customer named Kalista, describes working with adviser Mandy after buying her first home: "My partner and I recently bought our first home and didn't know the first thing about organising insurance... She made the whole process so much easier and stress-free. We'll definitely be using Advice Lab in the future!" — a snapshot of the kind of first-time-buyer support the firm positions itself around.
Rather than requiring clients to come into a fixed office during set hours, AdviceLab offers flexible meeting arrangements. The team might be working from home, in the office, or at a cafe, and encourages clients to call and figure out the most convenient way or place to meet. AdviceLab calls Wellington home, with a base in Upper Hutt, while helping clients right across New Zealand.
AdviceLab is based at Level 1, 12 Criterion Lane, Upper Hutt. Prospective clients can reach the team by phone, email, or through an online enquiry form to book an initial chat or ask a general question. The firm also maintains a presence on LinkedIn for those wanting to follow its updates.