School holidays ..... and the working parent

School holidays are here … again! It really does feel like the kids have just gone back to school and it's time to think about what are you going to do for the next school holiday break. A quick calculation will tell you that children get approximately 12 weeks of holidays a year.  Most working parents get 8 weeks between them, leaving at least 4 weeks where the children have no one to mind them. Unless you both want to use all your annual leave to solely look after the kids and never have a break together or as a family you need to start looking at alternative childcare methods.

Taking the plunge into Dry July

At BRAVEday we tell you to "Live boldly" at every opportunity, so this month I'm doing my bit by participating in Dry July. If someone had told me eighteen months ago that I would be voluntarily going a month without alcohol, I would have been the first to whack them over the head with my wine bottle.

How will your claim be handled?

We recently heard a story about a person unfortunate enough to be hit by a third party on one of Auckland's roads. A scary and stressful situation but no one was hurt and all parties had insurance.

Secret Men’s Business (or Women’s)

Helping out clients with medical claims is a pretty cool part of my job. Learning about medical conditions I've never even heard of is often fascinating, but the real reward is when the claims get accepted.  Sometimes though, clients would rather by-pass our office, as their claims can be extremely personal in nature. 

Another Increase? Seriously?!

By far, the question I am most commonly asked by our existing clients is "why have my premiums gone up?". More frequently these days is the extended version: "why have my premiums gone up by 16% when CPI is less than 2%?".

What to do when it's raining

Winter has well and truly arrived and with a long weekend coming up you might be finding it difficult to keep the kids entertained. Here are some ideas of things you can do that don't cost too much and it doesn't matter if it rains:

Ladies, just chill (easier said than done)

What if your wife was diagnosed with cancer?

We live in a world of equality …. where discrimination based on age, race or orientation is not tolerated in any form. Without getting into the great 'pay parity' debate, it would probably surprise you to know that many NZ women are covered for far less than their male counterparts.

Because you're worth it

We have finished the "golden quarter" (you know, when it feels like every second weekend is a long one) and are heading into the great winter drudge between June and October.

Protecting Your Family

When taking out insurance, many people want to be able to pay off their mortgage if something happens to them… others may want to cover one or two years income to give them time to recover from a serious illness such as cancer, while other people may want to leave some money for their families if they were to pass away to cover funeral costs and give their family time to grieve without any financial pressures.