THE QUESTIONS YOU NEED ANSWERS TO
You don’t expect to have an accident when you drive, but you always put your seatbelt on. That’s because you know that unexpected events can happen, whether we’re careful or not. It would be great if we all lived a long and healthy life before dying of old age, but unfortunately that’s not the case. Accidents happen and people get sick – and when you’re injured or unwell, you may no longer be able to work and make money.
Insurance goes to work when you can’t, providing money so you and your family can get on with recovering from an unexpected event, without stressing about the finances.
24% of New Zealanders are living with a disability
Cancer, heart disease and stroke are the most common causes of death for New Zealanders
Around 5 kiwis under the age of 65 have a stroke every day
One in five disabled New Zealanders is aged 16 to 64
40% of new cancers cases are in people aged under 65
One in 20 adults has been diagnosed with heart disease
21% of New Zealand adults experience chronic pain – which can lead to disability claims
Sources: Statistics NZ Disability Survey 2013; Stroke Foundation NZ; Health.govt.nz Cancer: new registrations 2012, and NZ Health Survey 2015/16; Heart Research Institute
What does the future hold? There’s no way to be certain, but you’ve probably got a few ideas. You might know what you’d like it to hold: probably owning your own home and taking holidays occasionally. Maybe you’ve planned to pay for your children to go to university, or to buy a boat when you retire.
Whatever you have in mind, insurance protects your plans. That means if you can no longer work and earn an income, your plans are safe. Even if you die, your plans won’t die with you. Choosing the right cover means that your insurance will step in and protect your intentions – paying the mortgage, covering living costs, funding their education – even if you aren’t around.
When something happens to you that means you can’t work, your income may stop. Whether it’s just for a few weeks, or several months, or even permanently, you don’t want to have the added stress of worrying about paying the mortgage and buying groceries. The right insurance means that when things go wrong, you can stay in your house and keep feeding the family. There are several types of insurance that can help you or your loved ones to cover your day-to-day expenses and mortgage repayments.
Insurance provides a safety net for you and your loved ones – because illness and injury can take us by surprise.
Income protection
When you can’t bring home the bacon, income protection insurance buys the bacon for you. It could be just a virus that lays you low for a few weeks. Or a broken leg that means you can’t work for a couple of months. It could also be something more serious.
Your ability to earn money is your most valuable asset. Income protection insurance means that if you are sick or injured, the money will keep coming in. That means you can continue paying the bills and focus on your health without having to stress out about your day-to-day expenses.
Permanent disablement cover
It won’t happen you, right? Well, hopefully it won’t. But we all know that bad things do happen to good people. Accidents do happen – and the most common cause of disablement in New Zealanders is actually a stroke.
If an accident or illness leaves you permanently disabled, this type of insurance will pay you a lump sum. That money may allow you to reduce debts, invest for the future or pay for private medical care – the way you spend the money is up to you.
Critical illness cover
How would your family cope if you or one of your children was seriously ill or injured? It could be that your partner would take time off to help you recover, or that you would leave work to care for your child.
For certain serious conditions, critical illness insurance gives you a lump sum payment. It would cover something like a heart attack, stroke, cancer, a bad back injury or multiple sclerosis. The conditions you’re covered for will be listed in your policy, and I can walk you through the fine print so you know what illnesses or injuries are included. This type of insurance can also cover you if one of your children needs your support during a time of critical illness.
Life insurance
Life insurance is simple: if you die or have a terminal illness, it pays a lump sum. That money goes to your loved ones, so they can deal with the situation without the extra stress of financial hardship. You can spend that money any way you want, to pay off the mortgage, set up a trust for the kids’ education, or spend on your living expenses.
MAKING $100,000 ADD UP TO $500,000
Some types of critical illness insurance can pay out more than once. Progressive Care cover is available across five categories, so you’re still covered if you get a related claim or a new illness. So if you have $100,000 in cover and have a level 3 heart attack, you would receive a $50,000 payout. You would then still be eligible under your policy for the following cover:
$100,000 COVER
- $50,000 lump sum for your original heart attack
- Another $50,000 available for heart and arteries, for a new health event or if your original condition worsens
- $100,000 available for cancer
- $100,000 available for brain and nerves
- $100,000 available for loss of function
- $100,000 available for other health events
More than 410,000 New Zealanders are self-employed. Most of the time, your business depends on you and you and your family depend on your business. That means it’s vitally important to protect both your income and your business if something happens to you.
Income protection
When you’re the boss, your ability to work is even more important. Insuring your income can be a bit different when you’re not necessarily receiving a regular payslip, but we can tailor the insurance to cover your self-employed status. That way you don’t need to add financial stress to the stress of not being able to work.
Key person cover
Most businesses have key people: someone with valuable contacts, unbeatable sales skills or hard-to-replace expertise. This cover provides funds for a short-term or long-term loss of a key person, whether through death, trauma or disablement.
Shareholder protection cover
Is your business owned by more than one shareholder? If one shareholder becomes disabled or dies, what happens to their share? Shareholder protection cover provides the money required for the remaining shareholders to buy out the equity without needing to find the funds elsewhere.
Advisers are paid by insurance companies, not by clients. Even if you use an online insurance generator, the prices are the same and the website will be paid the same amount by the insurance company as an adviser. But with an adviser you get the right guidance and ongoing support for your insurance policies. We can help tailor policies to suit your life, so you’re more likely to get the right insurance that pays out when you need it most.
Different policies have different levels of cover. Some policies are comprehensive and pay out for a wide range of illnesses and injuries – those policies are more expensive. Other policies save money by having more exclusions, which are the illnesses or injuries they won’t pay out for. Some policies, for instance, only pay out for certain named types of cancer. Most life insurance policies won’t pay out if you die doing something dangerous.
The information you provide is used by the insurer to work out whether they want to offer you insurance and how much the premiums should be. With the wrong information, they can’t provide the right cover. When you fail to disclose information, the insurer may later refuse to pay out on your claim. It’s vital to answer every question accurately and honestly, or you risk leaving yourself without cover. Take this duty seriously and be honest; whether you smoke, have had a previous claim declined, a family history of cancer, or a bad back, for instance.
Smoking increases your premiums, but once you’ve been a non-smoker for 12 months, you’re back to the same rate as a lifelong non-smoker.
Let us know if you’d like to cancel your policy; we may be able to work with you to find a way to maintain or adjust it to meet your requirements. If you definitely wish to cancel it, we can organise that for you, though there is usually a notice period of around one month.
Your insurer needs to know if you have a dangerous job or hobby, because one of the specified hazardous past times can greatly increase your risk of death or injury. The named activities are usually those involving speed, firearms, heights, or depths. They include motorsports, mountaineering, competitive equestrian sports, hunting, scuba diving, hang-gliding and firefighting. These activities will increase your premiums.
