Hi all,

Ever since leaving teaching in 1999 and embarking on my Financial Planning career I have invariably raised the topic of and the need to consider trauma, crisis or critical illness insurance. During this time I have had three clients claim. Little did I know that the fourth claim I was going to have to deal with was my own.

In August I had a biopsy and was diagnosed with Prostate cancer and my world was rocked. All of a sudden my family and I, were faced with a tough challenge to deal with. Along with this, the relevance of having trauma insurance became real to me. I have always told my clients that trauma cover pays a benefit upon diagnosis of certain defined medical events, such as heart attack, stroke and cancer, and now it was time for me to see if it worked as I have been saying. As it turned out, my claim was processed and paid within a fortnight. It goes without saying that I would rather have less money in the bank than have to deal with this challenge.

I have always told people that I hope that their insurance premiums would end up being a waste of money, however there is no better safety net to underpin you and your family’s financial position. Insurance benefits simply provide money when you need it most. Money may not necessarily change what what you are going through, but as I have been saying, it is better to have a disease and extra money in the bank (or less or no mortgage) than to have to face the same situation without it, whilst still having to deal with the same amount of financial pressure plus additional medical bills.

I hope all of you who have trauma, crisis or critical illness insurance (or any insurance premium for that matter) continue to be bothered by having to pay the premiums! For those of you who don’t have such cover, please consider its place in your financial foundation as part of an overall risk protection strategy. This goes without saying – I am not telling you all this to flog more insurance, quite frankly I don’t mind where you get the advice and product from, however it would give me great pleasure to know that we played a part in helping to secure your financial future against the range of medical conditions that this type of insurance offers.

I am truly thankful for the support and prayers being offered by so many – please keep it all coming!

Lastly, (this is not formal medical advice!) for all you blokes over the age of 40 who haven’t had your Prostate checked – JUST MAKE AN APPOINTMENT AND GET IT DONE cause cancer sucks!

Kind regards,

Michael