Are you one of the 57% of New Zealanders who have life insurance? If so, you already understand the importance of having it. But there’s 43% who may think life insurance is important, just not for them. Or that only old people or those with kids need it. But in reality, a life insurance policy is for everyone, including you!

Do I Need Life Insurance?

Here we are, 2018! Happy New Year!

One of the consistent things we have heard over the last few years is 'I cannot wait for this year to end; it has been the worst'.

Which is interesting as some of the people we have heard this from have said this every year for the last few years.

My question to you is; so what are you going to do differently?

Someone close to me recently attempted suicide. Here is the letter I wrote to them following this. And I’d like to write to you, and anyone who may be feeling low right now.

Hey, I know you're feeling crap on so many levels right now.

You're feeling like a failure; a burden on everyone, you're embarrassed, you feel like you've let everyone down, you feel worthless, frustrated, isolated, sad, alone, angry, and deflated, all at once.

Now that things have settled with our new government we can expect them to get on with the business of running the country.

Labour being Labour will have a focus on workers more so than business, subtly different to National's approach which is slightly more biased towards businesses.

When it comes to business health and safety, it may seem like the world’s gone mad. Since the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, business owners are sitting in one of two camps. They are either thinking it is over the top and doesn’t affect them, or they are taking the new regulations seriously. In general, it’s the small businesses, the work at homers, the hobby businesses and the sole operators who think it doesn’t affect them.

Stress. We live with it and many of us can’t live without it. It has that canny ability to follow us wherever we go. Work, home or school, stress builds a kind of tower, adding one more bit on the top until it gets so high it falls over. Then when that happens, we start suffering the effects of poor physical and mental health. That’s often the time when we decide it’s time to de-stress.

Here I am 12 months down the track from Dreamworld killing 4 of its visitors and reflecting on the last 12 months.

Yes, I’m back on the Gold Coast, in a virtual rinse and repeat of last years holiday. Mr 2 3/4 is now Mr 3 3/4 and we’re here at much the same time to do much the same things.

We’re even staying in the same place, Ashmore Palms, nice, quiet, cabin based family holiday park. More in the style of a classy camping park than a Gold Coast high rise apartment. Suits us just fine.

We've fielded many complaints and challenges with Youi in recent times.

We've put this together because our clients who have been with Youi have consistently had a bad experience, either with quotes and especially with claims.

Now to be clear, we are not saying Youi do not pay their valid claims, that would be defamation and isn't what we are talking about.

Health and Safety at work; why are we involved?

In a word it's risk. Risk for employees, risk for self-employed and risk for businesses.

For many of our retail or domestic clients this only has a bearing with us if the are injured at work and have to progress a claim with an insurer and/or ACC.

For employees

Confronting title, the short answer is when you don't review it.

The longer answer is all about the claim and it's highlighted well in this article Insurance company refuses to cover auckland mum with rare illness 

I feel for the family involved, it's not the outcome, as an insurance adviser, we like to see. It's not the outcome as a policyholder or as a human being we want either.

How did this happen?

If you are full time self-employed and you have not restructured your ACC, you are a bloody numpty

Yes, I called you a numpty! There's a reason for this.

As a self-employed person when it comes to accident injuries you have to prove your income to get weekly compensation paid.

It turns out, doctors really are concerned with the type of poos you have. In fact, there’s even a poo classification system called the Bristol Stool Chart. That means, when it comes to your poo, you no longer need to make a guess at the types you have – you can point instead! The type of make a guess at the types you have – you can point instead! The type of poos you have are something you should pay attention to, as changes can point to several health conditions.

Ratings, company ratings, like those bestowed by Standards & Poors (S&P) and Moodys, often come up in discussion between advisers and insurers.

What's interesting about this discussion is it always seems to be about this company is rated better than that company. Without swearing too much, FFS, play the ball not the player.

Insurance adviser or insurance broker, what’s in a title?

Quite a bit actually. “Are you an insurance broker?” is a very common question. Yes, sort of, is the answer.

That’s because, under the regulations we have, we’re insurance advisers, not insurance brokers.

What’s the difference?

Melanoma is the most serious form of skin cancer and with over 4,000 people diagnosed with melanoma in New Zealand each year, we have one of the world’s highest rates. Sun exposure is the number one cause of melanoma, with genetics also playing a part. Melanoma is the uncontrolled growth of melanocytes, which are the cells which produce the pigment which colours our hair, skin and eyes. If caught early enough, it is treatable, but once it has spread, the prognosis is not so great.