A Christchurch woman is disappointed after her life insurance application was rejected, because she'd suffered from postnatal depression

Heather Grant wanted to take out life insurance as a responsible new parent.

She received a letter from BNZ Insurance, simply saying her policy had not been accepted due to her mental health issues.

Grant says while she understands that the bank has to weigh up risks - the communication was appalling.

She says her postnatal depression, which developed a year ago, is temporary

"I would have thought even a little from my doctor saying, 'she's actually okay, her medication is helping her, she's doing alright, she's not at risk at all,' would have helped instead of this first red flag - depression - nope, no deal."

BNZ has since apologised for the wording of its email and says it will be doing more to train staff.