Meet Jeffery, a 41-year-old accountant from the Hunter region in NSW who purchased his first home with the help of his Aussie broker in 2018.
Just two years on, Jeffery’s life took a turn for the worst when he was diagnosed with colon cancer. Within two weeks of diagnosis, he underwent major surgery to have his whole colon removed and spent 5 days in ICU, before moving to the hospital ward for another week. Jeffery knew he had a long and challenging road ahead to his recovery.
During the process of applying for a home loan he recalled his broker discussing the option to take out financial protection to help provide some cover in case something unexpected was to happen. Jeffery, no stranger to how life can change in an instant after the loss of his wife in 2016, knew it was extremely important to have something in place.
After his diagnosis Jeffery decided to contact his broker to find out if he was eligible to make a claim. He recalls his experience in making a claim was easy and the extra financial assistance came at a much-needed time.
“…once I used up sick leave and things like that, I definitely needed that payment. It’s all pretty much gone to mortgage repayments. I have private health cover, so a lot was looked after with private health and Medicare but obviously a lot of other bills still come through."
Jeffery shared that his chemotherapy treatment has a range of side effects and leaves him feeling drained. It can also affect his memory which is essential in his line of work and he is thankful to have a supportive workplace that is allowing him to take the time to recover.
“He’s a great boss, so he just says you’re right until you’re better and he checks in every so often, gives me a buzz to see how things are going… Because it [chemotherapy] sort of fogs up your mind and things like that, you can’t remember stuff well and think straight all the time, so you could easily make mistakes, so that sort of wouldn’t work too well in my field of work.”
While Jeffery was familiar with different types of insurance in his line of work, he wasn’t fully aware of this type of Trauma cover until his broker raised it with him and believes it’s something all brokers should be offering.
“I believe risk insurance is very important overall… people think when it comes to life insurance, that it’s just going to pay out the mortgage. But I think the Trauma Benefit is just as important or even more important, with medicine these days you might not pass away from some of these illnesses.”
The current My Protection Plan product has been available since 5 April 2022. The above are examples of customers' claims paid on that product and similar products distributed by Australian Life Insurance Distribution ABN 31 103 157 811 (AFSL 226403). Any advice provided is general in nature and does not take into consideration your objective, financial situation or needs. You should consider these and the information in the Product Disclosure Statement (available along with the target market determination, from www.aligroup.com.au ), or speak to a financial advisor, before making a decision about our product. © ALI Group August 2022.