Insurance Claim Stories and Insurance Claim videos

At Moneyworks, we have a number of clients who have needed to claim on their insurances, and it has made a big difference to their lives.  This is the valuable and rewarding part of having life insurance, trauma insurance, income protection insurance or medical insurance in place.

We believe it is important to share these stories, and have compiled a variety of short stories and videos for your information below.

Adriennes Story – Long Term Income Protection insurance and Total and Permanent Disablement Insurance Claim

This video is the story of my long time closest friend Adrienne and her disablement.  Adrienne had always had problems with her hips and when she put in place her insurance cover, they were pretty much always excluded.  As the main income earner for her family, we knew that having the best insurance cover for her was vital.

We never imagined that she would be unable to work at the peak of her career.  That she would be struck down by illness that had no diagnosis, no cure, no solution.  We never thought, when she took 3 months off from her General Manager, Human Resources role at Housing New Zealand in 2009 that she would never go back to work.

 

My dear friend turned 58 this year.  She has not been able to work since she was 51.  It has been heart-breaking to see this happen to your close friend.  She was in so much pain, she didn’t know which way was up.  And what could I do as her friend.

NOTHING.  Nothing at all.  I couldn’t help her, I couldn’t fix her, I was useless.

I had to stand by the side and just ask how things were. There was nothing anyone could do.  Fortunately for me, as her financial adviser, I was able to help a little.  On my advice, Adrienne had put in place appropriate insurance cover.  I was able to help her claim on that insurance cover.  This helped her stress levels a little, seeing the money coming in, one less thing for her to worry about.

Through the years of tests, specialists, consultants, and more and more and more tests, specialists and consultants, there was no way that I could understand what she was going through.  There was no way that I could do any more to help her.

It was only in late 2012 that I really understood the role of the insurances that we had put in place for Adrienne.  This is when she was told that she would never return to work again in any meaningful capacity.

Adrienne was ‘Totally and Permanently Disabled’.

She was assured that her income protection insurance payments would continue until she was aged 65, but they would not be continually nagging her to fill in the forms to get the income paid.  That she would not be offered a ‘buy out’ of her income protection.  That she had the certainty of that financial support until retirement age.

When she told me what the lead doctor had said, I worked with one of her insurers to complete the claim on her Total and Permanent Disablement insurance cover.  I was not sure if it would be paid, so was able to do most of the claim without her knowledge.

AXA paid this benefit quickly and readily.

This meant that not only does Adrienne and her family have the certainty of her income protection payments until she is 65, they were able to repay their mortgages in full and invest some funds for their retirement security.

It was at this stage that I realised how much stress the uncertainty of the finances were putting on her.  Although she had the insurance cover in place, she had been continually scared that they would think she had would be able to go back to work, and that they would force her to do this and she knew she wasn’t well enough to.

Adrienne can’t drive because of her health and medication.  She can’t get through most days without a sleep.  BUT, with the payment of the TPD benefit last year and the certainty of the income protection benefit until she is age 65, I got my friend back.

I got back the loving, caring friend that I used to have.  That hadn’t been there for 5 or so years.  All her energy had been focussed on dealing with her pain, with her health.

As a financial adviser, I have always believed in the role of insurance.  But it is only in the last 6 months that I have seen the full truth of peace of mind that a good insurance policy and adequate cover can provide when it is needed.

I thank Adrienne for putting together this video to share with you all.  We hope that you enjoy it, and understand what happened. Remember too, Adrienne’s disablement has nothing to do with her hip condition.

 

Troys Story – Trauma insurance – video from Sovereign

With thanks to Troy and family and Sovereign for telling this story.  Troy was a successful chef running a busy kitchen.

As Troy said: – “The need for insurance protection is underestimated. With the benefit of hindsight, we’d have taken out more insurance.”

His trauma insurance covered travel and 4-5 months of the mortgage payments.

Rays Story – Motor Neuron Disease – Life insurance and Income Protection Insurance– Case Study – video from Sovereign

With thanks to Ray, his family and Sovereign, this excellent short video shows how insurance cover works.  Ray was a Dentist in Dunedin, very active, running long distances, when he was diagnosed with Motor Neuron Disease.

Although he had always seen his Life Insurance and Income Protection Insurance as a ‘necessary evil’ they made a real difference to being able to deal with his illness, and for his family, with his death.  They gave him dignity.

Jo’s Story – Long Term Income Protection Insurance and Life Insurance claim

My wife, Jo, and I were introduced to Carey by a mutual friend in 2000. At that time we were both in high level government jobs with good salaries. I had good insurance coverage through my industrial association. Jo had enough life insurance to cover our mortgage and medical insurance but nothing more. Carey sold Jo an income protection policy. I though the annual premium was a lot but it turned out to be by far the best “investment” we ever made.Jo with graqndchild

Jo suffered a subarachnoid haemorrhage (burst blood vessel on the brain) in 2004. This could happen to anyone and any time, regardless of the victim’s age and health at the time. Jo’s was a grade four out of four bleed.

Most people die from these. The survivors range from full recoveries to needing total care. Jo was “lucky” – she was left with a constant headache with spikes of crippling pain, short term memory problems, inability to deal with more than one thing at a time, aphasia (loss of words) and severe fatigue. Naturally, her self-confidence and well-being suffered as a result of this.

Once it was established that Jo would never be able to return to work in a role even close to the one that she had held, the policy paid her a monthly income that was approximately 22 times the amount the premium had cost on a monthly basis.

We would rather have had Jo being healthy but at least she continued to contribute to the family’s income and she felt good about that. Even with Jo being unable to work we were able to continue the life style that had previously been afforded by her income. I suppose insurance companies win some and lose some but that is the business they choose to be in.

After a few years of Jo receiving the monthly payments the insurance company offered a final settlement payment to satisfy the ongoing claim. The offer was reasonable and I think most people would have accepted it. It would have seen us more than mortgage free but would have been a good deal less than the total payments Jo would have received if she lived to age 65 which was when the policy was due to expire. Jo turned down the offer but we were grateful it was made. It could have been a good option but Jo preferred the ongoing income.

In 2013, with three years left to run on the income protection policy, Jo was diagnosed with inoperable, terminal lung cancer. This was completely unrelated to the subarachnoid haemorrhage. My darling died a year later. Even then the death benefit part of the policy paid out approximately what Jo would have been paid in the monthly payments anyway.

My sweetheart has left me but at least she lived out her final ten years in the way that she was accustomed to and did not go without anything, thanks to the policy Carey had sold her.

Written by Lindsay Duncan

Nicks Story – Life Insurance – Video from Sovereign

Life insurance does work.  This story is from Nick about how the life insurance cover from Sovereign,on his father provided for his children after he died from heart problems,

Sometimes it feels like a hassle paying these premiums, but if the unexpected happens and someone dies sooner than planned, the value of life insurance cover really comes into it’s own.

Remember that good life insurance policies also have a ‘terminal illness benefit’, which can pay out prior to death if death is imminent and signed off by the life insured’s doctor.

 

Brenda’s story – Heart Attack and Trauma Insurance – Video

With thanks to Brenda and SunLife Financial (Canada).  This story is about Critical Illness Insurance – which is generically referred to as Trauma Insurance.  Brenda said that after she put the cover in place she had forgotten about it.

When she had a heart attack, the insurance paid out and enabled her to reduce the stress on herself so that she could concentrate on day to day life and dealing with her healthy.

Shelley – Trauma, Health and Income Protection Insurance – Video from Sovereign NZ

With thanks to Shelley, and Sovereign.  Shelley had a tumour of her spine.

As Shelley says:   “You never know when something like this is going to hit you, and in my case,it didn’t matter how fit and healthy I was.”  Her tumour was a very rare condition.

Shelley got a trauma insurance payment, which enabled her husband Kevin to have time off work to do the household activities where she was disabled.  This worked in conjunction with her income protection insurance and total and permanent disablement insurances.