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by Jodie | Oct 9, 2012 | Advisers, Debt Management, Finances, Insurance & Protection
If faced with a brush with death, many consumers would sooner jump on the next plane to a sun-kissed getaway than contemplate getting life insurance, according to research commissioned by CommInsure. Not that it doesn’t sound appealling, I guess. But then, I’ve got all my personal insurances sorted.
Tim Browne, General Manager Retail Advice at CommInsure, recently revealed that large challenges remain for insurers when it comes to the priorities of their potential customer base.
“We have been working to convince the broader community that insurance is something which is important and worthwhile,” Browne told the conference delegates.
“In the last couple of years we have spent a great deal of energy working with the government, regulators and the media to help them understand how important insurance is. Our big challenge now is to further our efforts by focusing on consumers.
Browne stated that their research into consumer views of insurance revealed both “rational and surprising responses”.
“When we asked consumers how they would respond to a brush with death, more than half of them said their first reaction would be to fly overseas and recuperate! The response we want to hear is that in the event of something like that happening, they would sit down and carefully contemplate their insurance and take proactive action to ensure their financial details are covered. However, most people think of the Greek Islands instead! We need to change that,” said Browne.
What I believe is even trickier to help consumers understand is to take out the cover while you’re still healthy. Once you’ve had the scare, or the brush with death or that twitch in your eye that just won’t go away – you’re much more likely to be hit with higher premiums for some cover, or exclusions for others.
The process to reverse this trend is pressing home that people need to contemplate how they or their family, would survive in the event of job loss, serious illnesses or injuries or worst case, a death in the family.
“Consumers often feel that they will just have to dip into their savings, but that is only going to look after things for a short amount of time,” added Browne. Added to that, with most families living week to week, there’s not always a lot of savings on hand.
“Consumers next fall back is to rely on the government and social security, but no government in the world can tailor a safety net to meet everybody’s individual circumstances. This leads us down the path of why insurance is so important.”
Source: insurancenews.com.au article – Clients Pick Holidays Over Insurance – 24/5/2012
by Jodie | Oct 4, 2012 | Business, Debt Management, Economy, Finances, Interest Rates, Superannuation, Taxation
So the RBA have dropped the official cash rate down to 3.25% at the October Board meeting. Xmas in October then? Or once again, too little – too late? How does our Resource Story and China fit in with all this?
Read the Macquarie Investment Management take on the likely impact of the cut and future economic outlook it was based on, here: Macquarie RBA Oct12 Cut
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by Jodie | Sep 4, 2012 | Advisers, Business, General
Wealth Planning Partners are pleased to announce that Amanda Cassar has been nominated for the Female Excellence in Advice Awards for 2012. Amanda was also nominated in the inaugural launch year of the awards in 2011.
There is a high need for quality female advisers in the financial planning industry who are able to help influence the standards and direction of this great profession.
For more information please read through the attached press release here: TAL FEAA 2012 Press Release
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by Jodie | Jul 31, 2012 | Business, Economy, Finances, General, Investments
Cick here for : 
Russell Investments Market Commentary July 2012
Please find attached a copy of the latest Russell Market Outlook for July 2012.
Key messages include:
§ Markets to remain unsettled until there is a strong policy response in Europe.
§ U.S. economy on track for moderate growth. Risk of recession is low.
§ China’s economy is slowing but not collapsing.
§ Shares are cheap and bonds are expensive, but risk-on/risk-off cycle to persist for a while longer.
§ Tilt against the AUD in Russell Diversified Funds increased from low to medium.
I hope you find this of interest. If you have any queries please don’t hesitate to give me a call.
by Jodie | Jul 29, 2012 | Advisers, Finances, General, Insurance & Protection, Superannuation, Women
Dani is the daughter of a client I’ve had for some time. Her mum Jessie approached me to assist with some Salary Packaging strategies as she’s a nurse, and we soon became friends. Jessie is a happy, friendly, hospitable woman and extremely proud of her two beautiful daughters. She also happens to share her name with my great-grandmother – so we now consider each other as family.
On finding out her youngest had been diagnosed with leukaemia at age 22, she was distraught, but went straight into protection, carer and nurture mode – it seems to come especially easy to her as both a mother and a nurse!
Jessie also requested that I go through some of Dani’s paperwork to see if there was anything financially she had that could help out. Included in that bundle was a statement of superannuation benefits for an industry fund which included lump sum cover for Death and Total & Permanent Disability (TPD). Dani’s prognosis was grim for the immediate future and likely the coming 3-5 years or beyond, meaning a possible total disablement claim. In any case, it wouldn’t hurt to try.
I assisted Dani when she was feeling up to it, to complete the paperwork, liaise with her doctors, the hospital and submit the paperwork, all within a couple of weeks of the insurance lapsing due to the fact that she’d now left work and no further employer funds were being paid.
And that’s possibly when the true battle began. Dani’s health was up and down; eventually reducing to 32 kgs; falling and breaking her tailbone; being accidentally overdosed by the hospital along with the usual treatments for her condition. Tests eventually confirmed Dani had beaten the leukaemia but had a serious complication following the marrow transplant known as GVHD (Graft vs. Host Disease) where the immune cells in the graft recognise the recipient as a foreign host and attack the hosts’ body cells.
The doctors also were slow to respond to the paperwork requirements and unwilling to complete the relevant pages requested by the insurance company to confirm TPD and finally and sadly, we had to switch to a Terminal Illness claim when Dani was told she had less than 12 months to live. Hundreds of pages of reports followed and after much frustration and work over fourteen months, the Case Manager finally rang to advise me we had a payout on the way!
Dani has put on a couple of kilograms, is still in hospital but remains incredibly positive and was delighted to turn 24 a few months ago. I’ve been asked to assist her to find a new home, close to hospital and where she can concentrate on recuperating as best she can and devote more time the creative arts she loves.
This story reinforces strongly for me the immense value of insurance, the importance of advice and the significance of the precious relationships we forge along the way. Being financially independent now provides Dani with options – she can concentrate on her health and wellbeing, provide medically for her needs and allows her some financial freedom to consider her options.
Handwritten thank you note from Dani read:
Dearest Amanda
I just wanted to say thank you for all the support you have given to me over the past 2 years. Thank you so much for chasing up that money from Sunsuper, for being persistant and dedicated in your work. For always being friendly and a pleasure to be around. For being a great and loyal and supportive friend to my mum and for taking time out of your busy schedule to make time for us. We both love you to death and yo really do have such a positive influence over mum. I notice she always seems so much happier and relaxed after she sees you.
Thank you for everything. Take care of yourself. Looking forward to catching up.
Always, Dani x
