Gareth Moore had just come home from running his summer music camp, and collapsed in the middle of the street. For the Director of the Auckland School of Rock, the next month was a blur of hospitals, transfusions, and scary procedures.
The final diagnosis was rare neurological condition in his spine. This is Gareth’s story of recovery and the business insurance advice that saved his livelihood.
I finally got back home in January 2016 and realised that I didn't have the strength, energy, or movement to work. I had also been told that I would need a recovery period lasting one to two years—this totally freaked me out. It just couldn't happen. I had always been really fit and healthy, with a reputation for getting heaps done and had even been nicknamed ‘the energiser bunny' for my previous levels of vitality and passion in my work. It was like I had turned 40 and suddenly fallen apart!
When your back’s up against the wall, that's when you thank all of your lucky stars that you had met Dean Young from BRAVEday. He was such a good guy, spoke through my insurance needs in a way that made sense and never complicated anything.
When your back’s up against the wall, that's when you thank all of your lucky stars that you had met Dean Young from BRAVEday.
Like most people probably do, I remember at times over the next few years going over the monthly bills with my wife Julie and wondering “do we really need business insurance?” After all we were fit, healthy, and lived in Aotearoa where the state hospital system and our Southern Cross would look after everything… wouldn’t they? Well, we soon found out the hard way.
I relied on being a PAYE 'owner-operator' for my income, however when I got sick, it was not a workplace injury (i.e. no ACC), and also wasn't covered by my Southern Cross insurance. So my wife made the good decision to ring BRAVEday and see if there was anything they could help with.
What an incredible company! BRAVEday's pledge that they will be there for you at claim time is no idle boast, they really swing into action when you need them. Tania Young and the rest of the BRAVEday crew worked so hard to make sure Julie had guidance every step of the way through the claims process. It was also pretty amazing to receive a visit from Dean in my hospital bed just to check that I was okay and that I had everything that I needed.
Once BRAVEday had gone in to bat for us, and we received the insurance payout to live on each month, I assumed they had done their job, and that we wouldn't see or hear from them much more. But the team were regularly in touch, always thoughtful and always asking if there was anything else they could do.
The team were regularly in touch, always thoughtful and always asking if there was anything else they could do.
BRAVEday advocated on my behalf with the insurance company to get travel paid (I live on Waiheke Island), to Auckland for health check-ups and appointments, as well as a gym membership for rehabilitation. BRAVEday also undertook some deeper research that tapped into a new service (previously unoffered), called ‘Best Doctors’ that enabled all my records and scans to be sent to a top neurological specialist in America for a second opinion. Down the track this has been invaluable in discussion with my care team at Auckland Hospital.
Julie and I look back and thank our lucky stars everyday for meeting Dean back in 2009. Without Dean, Tania, and the BRAVEday team, we would have had to shut down the business. Even though we were able to get management in place during my sabbatical, we had stupidly invested all our savings back in the business to fund growth and cash flow. That said, there was no way we would have been able to live or look after our family. It's fair to say without BRAVEday on our team, life would have come crashing down around us.
I have already asked two of my best friends to sign up with BRAVEday, and will continue to recommend this amazing company to everyone I meet. I cross my heart never to doubt or cast aspersions on the true value of paying those monthly premiums ever again.
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