Does your insurance protect you from the unexpected?

Monday, 21 June 2010

You just never know when the unexpected will strike.

Dave* and Anne* had a full financial needs analysis conducted with their financial adviser at the beginning of June. The analysis highlighted that although they were doing extremely well financially, with both earning excellent salaries and their home nearly paid off, their financial plan would be derailed if they were unable to work or suffered a major event.

Their financial adviser recommended they transfer this risk by adding appropriate trauma, total and permanent disability and income protection insurance to their existing life covers which would cover a range of risks and scenarios that could severely affect their lifestyle.The recommended insurance cover included:

Life Insurance: Lump sum payment if either of them died, which would be enough to pay for their children’s education and clear any outstanding debts.

Trauma and Total and permanent disability cover: A specified lump sum would be paid if either of them suffered a trauma event or became totally and permanently incapacitated – and therefore unable to earn a living – through injury or illness.

Income Protection: A plan that would pay a monthly income should they be sick or disabled, in this case to age 65.

The unexpected does happen.

Five weeks later Dave had a stroke. Unfortunately even though they agreed with the final report and wanted to take out the suggested covers, they had procrastinated and had not put the insurance in place.

It was now too late.

Now not only can Dave not work but Anne’s work is also severely affected as she has to travel a long distance to hospital to be with her husband. If they had purchased the insurance cover that their independent financial adviser had recommended to them weeks earlier, they would have had a lump sum trauma payment immediately, then a regular
income under the Income Protection cover.**

We just never know when life events will happen to upset everything and threaten our financial security. It really does pay to have appropriate insurance in place.

Did you know that two in five men and one in four women between the ages of 30 and 64 will suffer a serious illness (according to General Cologne Life Re in 2002) and one in eight people will have a stroke in their lifetime? (Stroke Foundation of NZ 2007) Are you sure that you will be the ‘other three men or three women’ or one of the ‘other seven’?

Did you know, of the accidents & Injuries In New Zealand, accidents or injuries were given as a cause of disability for about 166,000 adults and the most common type of accident or injury causing disability was one that occurred at work *.

Contact your financial adviser now to talk about your circumstances.


* Names and personal details changed to protect privacy.
** This information is indicative only, and is provided as an example to illustrate the benefits available under Life Care from Fidelity Life. Talk to your independent financial adviser about your options and what’s right for you.

This information is general in nature and should not be used as a substitute for financial advice. Always consult your financial adviser before making any financial decisions.