Would you be financially okay if this happened to you?
Andrew and Lisa Shaw's Story
Dairy farmer Andrew Shaw was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in January 2017; he was 40 years old and his wife Lisa was 35. They had three children and a business to run.
Only once they were in this situation did they realise the value of having the right insurance cover.
“We are very grateful for Andre Tourelle, because we would be in an entirely different situation had we not had the cover that he put in place for us” Lisa states emphatically.
Andrew and Lisa met Andre from Tourelle Lifebrokers in 2010, through the Jersey Breeders Association. “At the time, we had your standard contents and car insurance” Lisa notes.
The Shaws farm near Pirongia, milking 370 cows on 110ha effective.
“Andre sat with us and did a full review of our current situation. He advised that we get Life Cover, Trauma Cover, ACC Cover Plus Extra and Farmers’ Disability Income Protection because we were self-employed.”
Trauma Cover provides a lump sum payment should you suffer one of 42 serious and potentially life-threatening conditions, such as cancer, a stroke, heart attack, loss of limbs, head injury, etc. It’s designed to help alleviate the financial impact of such an event, while Life Cover provides a lump sum payment in the event of death.
Both Life and Trauma Cover payments can be used as you see fit - perhaps to reduce debt, cover expenses, create an investment fund to generate ongoing income, or enable business ownership to be restructured.
Income Protection provides a financial safety net should you be disabled due to sickness or injury and unable to earn your regular income. It’s a monthly benefit designed to replace a significant portion of lost income to help maintain your usual lifestyle during treatment and recovery.
The Shaw’s also added private medical insurance.
“We went with Andre’s advice because it made sense. We didn’t fully appreciate the value of any of it until we found out Andrew was sick.”
December 2016 marked a dramatic change in their lives.
“During Andrew’s first chemo treatment, Andre visited us at the hospital, bringing the Claim Forms for our Trauma Cover payout and Income Protection. All I had to do was sign the forms and Andre took care of the rest.”
Andrew had some lumps on his neck which were growing. Blood tests came back as normal, but his Doctor advised an ultra-sound and referred him to an ENT specialist. Andrew had chest X-rays a week before Christmas and saw the ENT specialist the following day. He had a CT scan that same afternoon and then a biopsy on December 21.
On January 5, 2017 Andrew was advised he had Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and that chemotherapy was the first course of treatment.
Treatment began on January 12.
“Because we had private medical insurance, this all happened so quickly” says Lisa. “We were immensely grateful to be able to avoid the long public health waiting lists. About $10,000 worth of treatment was simply covered.”
“We had no financial issues to worry about and even the farm was taken care of.”
She adds that she had made Andre aware of their situation prior to Christmas. “Andre was fantastic. He kept in touch all through the Christmas break, knowing that their part was imperative in keeping our family going.
“During Andrew’s first chemo treatment, Andre visited us at the hospital, bringing the Claim Forms for our Trauma Cover payout and Income Protection. All I had to do was sign the forms and Andre took care of the rest.”
An 8-week stand down period on the Shaw’s Income Protection payment was activated there and then.
A significant Trauma Cover lump sum was paid to them in early February 2017 enabling Lisa to give up work and concentrate on her family.
They also received monthly payments (Farmers’ Disability Income Protection) to cover an employee. “We had no financial issues to worry about and even the farm was taken care of.”
16 months later, Andrew is thankfully in remission.
Ongoing treatment causes him a lot of pain in his feet and legs so he’s unable to work and remains on Income Protection cover. Andre continues to work closely with their Sovereign Insurance case manager to provide Andrew with full support in his recovery, including gym memberships and physiotherapy.
Lisa says she’s Andre’s biggest fan. “Most insurance brokers sell policies, but Tourelle Lifebrokers are the whole package – they care, they’re family oriented and they make the policy work for you.
“I’m very proactive in telling our story because this stuff happens to people.
“Families in similar situations have had to sell their businesses and leave their homes.
“Our lives have continued as normally as possible because Andre made sure we had the right insurance cover in place.
“My question to people is: would you be financially okay if this happened to you?”
It’s imperative to have the right insurance cover for your situation. Andre can help you get that done.
