Hot Tips

Children’s cover
No one likes to think about poor health, disability or serious injury happening to children, but it does, and there can be big expenses involved, not to mention time off work.
Having some insurance money paid out can significantly ease the financial burden during such a difficult time.
When it comes to Trauma Cover we do some special things. Check with us to find out the best option for you. One provider will add free trauma cover (to your trauma policy) of up to $50,000 on dependent children aged between 4 months and 19 years old. They also offer cover up to $450,000 for a nominal cost. At age 19 the cover can be transferred to their own policy.
➢ Future proof your child’s insurance.

Beware!
You need to get good advice. The key to a successful insurance plan is that it is fit for purpose for both your current situation and your future goals.
Remember that buying online or direct from a bank channel gives you a one dimensional offering – often with no consideration for your actual needs.
Our advantage gives you…
+choice
+targeted, tailored advice
+research
Make sure you get appropriate advice, tailored to your specific needs.
➢ A professional insurance advisor can help you make the right choices.

Terminal illness
The terminal illness benefit on your life insurance policy is very important.
People often take a long time to die!
A cancer sufferer can fight their battle over a number of years. We all understand that the person who is ill will need income support, but we often forget that their partner needs income support as well. They take time out from work to look after their loved one, the children, trips for treatment, holidays etc.
➢ Remember to add a year or two of income to your life insurance to cover these costs, don’t just insure the mortgage.

Guaranteed wordings
What is ‘guaranteed wordings’ all about?
Let’s consider health insurance for one minute. Many health insurance providers’ policies are not guaranteed! The insurance company has the right to make unilateral changes to existing clients’ policies – they can change or simply take away benefits.
How would you feel if, after paying premiums loyally for many years, you discovered that just when you needed to claim, a treatment cost previously covered was now excluded?
Ensure that your policies are guaranteed, so while the insurer can make your product better, they can never take benefits away!
➢ Check with us – does your existing policy have a guaranteed wording?

Not all insurers or policies are equal.
There are significant differences in the benefits provided by different providers, even within the same class of policy, which may mean reduced or limited benefits on claim or worst of all, no claim at all.
➢ A good advisor will do the research for you.

PHARMAC
An important difference between health insurance providers is cover for drugs that are not funded by PHARMAC. In some cases, the best treatment option is not funded and the cost of that treatment could be in the tens of thousands of dollars.
Having your insurance policy cover those costs if you ever needed them is pretty important – but a number of policies provide no or very limited coverage for drugs if they are not PHARMAC funded.
➢ Does your health policy cover the costs of recommended drugs, regardless of whether they are PHARMAC funded or not?

Promise of upgrade
Medical science is constantly on the move. Your health and trauma insurance policy also needs to keep up. For example a trauma policy taken out 10 years ago is quite different from the new comprehensive policy offered today…
Traditionally, rather than upgrading existing policies, insurers have simply brought their new upgraded policy to market – leaving the old existing policies untouched. This has not been good for the existing client.
Existing policy? Firstly we need to check – does your existing policy need to be upgraded? New policy? Whether you are upgrading or looking for new cover, we will look for a policy that has the promise of upgrade that some providers now offer.
➢ Call your insurance professional ☺

Research
Why is research important? The insurance market has become too complex for clients or even most individual advisers to assess on their own. One research house we use has a team of seven staff and they also call on contract underwriters, medical experts, claims experts, reinsurers, and actuaries to help make their assessments. Insurance Lab advisors use independent research to help inform their thinking – other advisers must either be trying to cover a lot of ground themselves, or make do without.

Are products really that different? Yes! The worst trauma product, for example, offers only about half as much cover as the best.

Your Insurance Lab advisor uses the Quotemonster and Strategy research houses. We look closely at the quality and what claims will be paid rather than just price. Your advisor’s experience in selecting policy options is also critical to getting you the right solution.
➢ We give you clear, researched choices.

Contact us for great advice.