Ruby is a very family orientated person. As a single mother with two children, her priority is creating a support network with her extended family and earning a reasonable income as an executive at a publishing company.
On her way to work one morning, Ruby was involved in an accident that landed her in hospital with several broken bones. She needed to take a few months of work.
While such an event would be a tragedy in anyone’s life, for Ruby it had a far more destructive impact because she was worried about how she would pay the bills and look after her children. This additional stress led to a post-traumatic stress disorder that caused mild depression which she needed help to overcome.
Ruby’s condition was going to take a lot of time and resources to heal and her income protection insurance was to play a major part in that journey.
The primary benefit of Ruby’s income protection policy was a monthly income benefit during the time she was unable to work enabling her to continue to pay her bills. A critical part of her recovery was the intense rehabilitation she needed to pay for.
Fortunately, Ruby’s financial adviser had the details of her income protection policy and was able to provide guidance on receiving her full benefits, including supplementary benefits that provided extra funds to pay for a specialist rehabilitation adviser.
Ruby’s rehab adviser formulated a therapy strategy, along with her GP. This included continual communication with her family on how they could best assist with her treatment.
Ruby would never be able to resume her own occupation at such a high level, so her the insurer’s rehab adviser secured re-training within the industry, enabling her to find a job that supported her physical and mental wellbeing and allowed her to work flexible hours around her children’s school hours.
Without the appropriate income protection plan in place and expert guidance from her financial adviser, Ruby’s recovery may have had an entirely different outcome.
Many Australians can identify with Ruby. At some point in our adult lives, we will be faced with our own 'big life' events. This might be an accident, illness, redundancy, or dealing with the death of a loved one. Your wealth protection plan may play a role in how you are able to deal with these life events.
Seeking financial advice can help you to create a tailored wealth protection strategy that is appropriate for you. There are different options for holding wealth protection cover inside and outside of super so it does not need to make a big impact on your personal budget.
