A recent article in the Sunday Star Times highlighted to me once again some of the holes or shortfalls in many of the policies we review for our new and prospective clients.
Income protection insurance needs to be reviewed regularly - at least annually! In recent weeks I have seen several policies that have been in place for longer than five years that no longer have any relevance to the clients current circumstances.
Some of the key issues were:
- Exclusions on wrong parts of the body (The client thought these couldn't be reviewed or lifted) - We review our client's exclusions & loadings constantly and are always trying to improve their terms.
- The policy only paying out for two or five years - What if you can't work for a long time, five years or longer, and your cash flow runs out? Most policies we recommend pay right through to age 65 or 70.
- Policies that are underwritten financially at claim time - this casts doubt on how much you actually get paid out - despite the premium you have been paying - At BRAVEday we recommend all underwriting, both medical and financial, is all done at application time, not claim time. This results in greater certainty at claim time.
If you suspect your income cover may possibly have a few holes in it or it hasn't been reviewed in years we would be more than happy to have a look at it and give you some good, honest advice.
Give us a call or send us an email - (09) 480 6114 or info@braveday.co.nz
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Real statistics from some of our real clients: |
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Claimant age |
Condition |
Time off work |
Benefit received |
|
37 |
Mental Health |
40 months |
$222,000 |
|
36 |
Cancer |
33 months - ongoing |
$115,500 to date |
|
26 |
Cancer |
27 months - ongoing |
$108,000 to date |
|
52 |
Cancer / Heart Attack |
6 months |
$16,458 |
|
33 |
Mental Health |
12 months |
$43,340 |
|
52 |
Heart Condition |
5 months |
$27,915 |