WealthDesign

As a parent of young adults, I am aware of the pitfalls of sending them off to university, to the halls of residence or their first flat, without insurance.

If your son or daughter manages to leave the stove on and burns down their flat, the landlord’s insurer will happily replace the building for the owner and then chase the tenant for the cost.

All contents cover carries a public liability cover to protect this risk.  If your kids have charged off to university, or moved into a flat, or, if you are a tenant, double check that you have cover in place.  Accidents do happen! Be prepared.

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Recently I spoke at a business meeting about the month of March being about kids.  National Children’s Day, Plunket Society Fundraising Week, and Well Child Week all fall in the month of March.  These are all charities and events that help families, especially the kids out there who are struggling with illness. 

New Zealand children collectively undergo around 100,000 cancer treatments and procedures every year. 

Having a child diagnosed with a serious illness like cancer would be heartbreaking.  There are many uncertainties that none of us would want to be faced with.  And as parents we would want to be able to give them and get for them everything they need to have the best chance of making a good recovery.

Child cover provides a lump sum payment and works just like an adult trauma policy.  Families use this cash for the extra costs of time off work or away from business.  They pay for travel and accommodation, medication and specialist visits.

And of course health insurance can get them treatment sooner, at the hospital of your choice at a time that suits your family.

Regan Thomas

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In life, timing counts. Who would care less if Jessie Ryder was out having a beer or two if it wasn’t for his bad timing – i.e. the night before representing his country?

In investing, timing matters.  You don’t want to put your life savings into the market on one day, just to find a week later the markets head south and you lose it all (if you needed to sell immediately).

With insurance it’s even worse. You can only buy insurance before the disaster and you never know when one will strike.  People think about a disaster as a fire or earthquake but in truth the worst disasters I’ve seen, are ones that impact on a person’s ability to work and earn on income. 

Don’t put it off – take action!  Once you’re covered, then you can forget about it and get on with enjoying your life – knowing that if a disaster did happen, you have the peace of mind of knowing you’re financially prepared.

John Barber

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Often people are confused about what a financial planner really does. They think it’s all about investing money and only the wealthy should talk to us. They think it is about getting the latest shiny investment.  This is miles from the truth. We are here to help people achieve their goals in life. This means looking at their individual situation and making suggestions of how they can make changes to create a better future, for them and their families.

Sometimes I feel that as an adviser, independent advice seems to be marginalised and the institutions want to reduce the options for the public to find good advice. Their idea of quality advice is a teller that can only sell their products, and that advice is a commodity like a cheque account, a cookie-cutter process that treats every person the same.

I believe our generation has been hoodwinked by the banks. For example we often find people in their mid fifties with large mortgages and little savings for retirement. Yes, they may be in KiwiSaver but they don’t have time to save enough to really support themselves in retirement.  Financially these people need to make some hard decisions. They may need to down size, repay debt and start serious saving for retirement.   The strategy may even include planning to work until age 70. It will often include making sure there is a back up plan if one’s health declines. It is vital to set out a strategy and stick to it and this is where having a qualified experienced adviser is vital, someone who has your back and is here for you for the long haul.

It’s not about shiny investments or selling a product. It’s not about trying to get the last inch of performance out of your money, it is about working out what is right for you and helping you taking action, over your lifetime.

Bankers are great at banking.  Financial advisers are great at giving financial advice.  Horses for courses.

John Barber

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The amount paid out in claims by the personal insurance industry (life and income protection insurance) in the year ending December 2013 was $1,113,506,000.  This makes it the third successive year that the New Zealand industry has paid more than one billion dollars out in claims.

Peter Neilson, the chief executive of the Financial Services Council (FSC), said the industry was expanding in personal income protection insurance.  He said long-term illnesses were twice as likely to strike down employees than accidents, and were not covered by ACC.

Although many people thought they would be covered by the sickness benefit in the event of health issues affecting their employment, income testing meant about 60% of households would be ineligible.  “We end up with the majority of New Zealanders too rich for government help, but too poor to pay the mortgage.”

If you’d like to discuss your personal situation, give us a call.  We’re here to help.

Regan Thomas

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