Insurance Advice and Tips from the Spratt Financial Team

Insurance works best when it is used as the foundation for a plan that will protect a business, family or estate that is confronted by serious illness, long term disablement or injury. If you already have an insurance package (or you’re looking for insurance) and you want to know whether your insurance will really be sufficient to provide for all of your financial needs, here are the questions you should know the answers to:

WHAT WILL YOU NEED THE INSURANCE COVER FOR?

We recommend that you grab a pen and paper and write down what your insurance claim proceeds will need to be used for when it is paid out. If you can’t do this now before tragedy strikes then you may be facing trouble later. Having this list in place can give you a reminder of where the money needs to go when it comes time to claim. With insurance, it’s always better to be safe than sorry.

WILL YOU BE ABLE TO CLAIM SOON ENOUGH?

Life Insurance pays out in the event of actual or impending “medical death”. However, in 94% of cases in New Zealand, deaths are due to medical conditions not accidents. 65% are these are due to degenerative medical conditions such as cancers, heart disease and strokes which can kill slowly over what may be an extended period of time. During this time, unable to work and unable to support yourself, your family or your business, you will be facing tremendous financial strain which your insurance may not cover for. Will the bank or your creditors wait until you are terminally ill before your life insurance cover pays out? This is perhaps the most crucial consideration to take into account when assessing your insurance. We can help you ensure that you are fully covered financially in the face of these worrying statistics as unfortunately, basic life cover is most of the time, simply not sufficient.

IS THE SUM-ASSURED OF YOUR INSURANCE ENOUGH?

It may sound strange, but a $250,000 insurance claim may not be enough to repay a $250,000 debt. You may have additional interest payments, penalties for being in arrears and you may need to pay a Solicitor, Trustee or your Accountant to carry out these transactions for you. It is crucial that you set your sum assured at the right amount to cover your debt and provide adequately for your family and dependants should something happen to you. Take into account all factors, costs and if necessary, talk to us and we can help you find the amount you need.

DO YOU HAVE THE RIGHT INSURANCE?

If you have income protection insurance – do you have the right kind? If you have health insurance – what does your health insurance actually cover and what do you need it to? If you have permanent disability or critical illness insurance – how are these insurances structured within your overall portfolio of insurance and how will they work if something happens to you? The bottom line is, you need to figure out what risks you are most likely to face, take into account your lifestyle and your financial situation and then select the right insurance to meet your individual needs. This is why it’s so important to have robust insurance advice from insurance professionals like us – we can find out what’s right for you. Sometimes having the wrong kind of insurance is almost as bad as having no insurance at all.

ARE YOU MAKING ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT YOUR INSURANCE?

Making assumptions about your insurance without proper and solid research and planning is always a mistake. Even assuming that you or someone close to you will be physically, mentally and emotionally capable of applying the claim proceeds to your predetermined targets is not supported by our experience of dealing with over 200 insurance claims. Question everything, and get a second opinion from insurance professionals to make sure you’ve got it right.

WHAT SHOULD YOU DO? 

What have we learned? We recommend that you use our experienced professional advisers to not only design and review the underlying plan, but to execute it and carry out the tasks they are best suited to handle. If you don’t have a plan now, prepared with clear-headed purpose, then any insurance you do have may well be insufficient or not adequately fit to your unique needs. Use our experienced professionals if you need guidance or advice – our service is completely free and no obligation, so you have nothing to lose!

HOW DO I GET STARTED?

For more information on how Spratt Financial’s team of advisers can assist with managing your insurance program,  use our contact form below. You can also contact us by calling 09 307 8200 or by email at enquiry@sprattfinancial.co.nz.

Attraction and Retention - Solving an Employer Challenge

Small and Medium Sized Businesses (SME’s) are the lifeblood of the New Zealand economy, with over 470,000 SME’s employing over 584,000 staff. Much has been made recently of the staff shortages NZ businesses are experiencing, and the predicted “great resignation’’ once the borders open after prolonged closure. In a tight labour market, employers are always looking for new ways to attract and retain talent. A recent global wellbeing survey indicated that 82% of organisations believe wellbeing is important within their company. However, 'wellbeing' can have can have different meanings to different people.

Two meanings that are universally accepted in relation to it are Health Wellbeing, and Financial Wellbeing.  Employers can provide this wellbeing via “Employee" insurance programs that provide staff with Health insurance benefits so they can get better and back to work faster with insurance benefits that pay cash to staff should they suffer a major illness or disability, relieving financial worry and stress. 

Employee or “Group” insurance places value on employees’ wellbeing and shows that their employers genuinely care about them. If you are an employer with at least 5 employees, it’s a fantastic gesture to build loyalty, retain staff and reward them for their hard work. These plans also have the valuable advantage of providing a higher level of coverage, and at a much lower premium cost than an individual employee could access themselves.

A recent report by the Financial Services Council of New Zealand shows that “Group" insurance for employees is one of the fastest growing sectors of the insurance industry. This is because more and more employers realise the value it holds for employees from internationally mobile staff through to blue collar workers, and what great value it represents on ROI per dollar spent (cost is usually well below 1% of remuneration expenditure). Group medical insurance schemes are also available and are generally an exceptional and cost-effective option that gives your employees medical cover at lower costs than they could access themselves.

To find out more, or to receive a free no obligation consultation or quote you can contact our specialist Employee Benefits adviser to see how we can help you today. 

Peter Wilkening
Insurance Adviser 
(021) 190 5185
peter.wilkening@sprattfinancial.co.nz