As most of us know Life Cover is very admin intensive. I have worked for some of the top Life Insurance providers for over eight years and understand the full life cycle of a Life Insurance application, from application all the way through to a claims payment and this process can be tedious and frustrating. Having worked at Harbour Wealth for four years this August, my life has changed significantly since I left the Life Insurance Industry. Whilst previously employed by insurance providers, I was taught how to sell a Life Insurance product and the benefits of this product; however, I now realise I was not independent and actively defended the Life Insurance Company I was working for, naturally. The slow process of a life insurance policy and payment was par for the course, and I was on the Life Insurance gravy train.
Don’t get me wrong, I love, maybe that’s too strong a word, like Life Insurance and especially when the claims pay out like they should, when we need it the most, but are we getting sold the right product and the right service post purchase of a Life Insurance policy, once the commission is paid? Are we able to choose the right Life Insurance? As Harbour Wealth is an independent financial services provider, we are able to quote across many Life Insurance companies, ensuring our clients obtain the best-suited product for their Life Insurance needs.
Life Insurance is a grudge purchase and doesn’t cater for everyone’s specific needs, but being able to select the closest matched solution for our clients’ is our main aim.
Let me put this into perspective, I have worked in underwriting for a number of years, prior to joining Harbour Wealth, and I was one of the underwriters assessing your application. Then I moved to the claims department, where I found my niche, where I assessed and approved or declined claims. If I was to perform that function now, I would have a lot more empathy and understanding for clients.
My partner was recently diagnosed with Breast Cancer and that has changed our lives significantly. After Covid we thought that life would get back to post-covid normal, like everyone else, and after a misdiagnosis and a second opinion we are over ten months into her cancer treatment. Her cancer diagnosis and treatment thereof has taught us so many life lessons and one of them is patience. Part of having a medical condition is the waiting. It brings to mind the poem by Dr Seuss.
The Waiting Place
Waiting for a train to go or a bus to come,
Or a plane to go or the mail to come,
Or the rain to go or the phone to ring,
Or the snow to snow or waiting around for a
Yes or a No
Or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.
Waiting for fish to bite
Or waiting for wind to fly a kite
Or waiting around for Friday night
Or waiting, perhaps for their Uncle Jake,
Or a pot to boil, or a better break
Or a string of pearls or a pair of pants
Or a wig with curls, or another Chance
Everyone is just waiting. (Dr Seuss)
Everyone is just waiting
I know Dr. Seuss had another thought in his head when he wrote this poem, but I always think of this poem when we are waiting for a doctor’s appointment, waiting to see a specialist, waiting for a scan, waiting for medical aid approval, waiting for treatment, waiting for doctors to complete medical reports, waiting for claim assessors to assess a claim, waiting for Life Cover payments and so on…
I am not a tolerant person and have been humbled by the amount of people that have been diagnosed with cancer within the past two years. I am sure there are many stats about the reasons for this and Covid may be one of them. It is bizarre how many people that I know personally, and not just a friend’s friend which was the case years ago, who have now been diagnosed with cancer. It is also scary how younger people are being diagnosed with cancer, but maybe that’s because I am getting older due to all the waiting.
Waiting gives you time to reflect as you hear about someone else’s journey, the reason why nose hairs are important, the end of chemo treatment with a bell ringing celebration, the high five to another patient who has had their last radiation treatment, the discussion of why a chemo armchair is so important, the late-night yawn at radiation as your appointment has been pushed out to 10:30pm because of loadshedding etc.… I am not the patient as I am the passenger, but I have definitely felt part of the journey and ten months ago I was none-the wiser.
We thankfully had dread disease and income protector cover, as well as other benefits, and it was a smooth process to be paid out and that is why I can now personally value the importance of Life Cover and what it can mean to a family.
It has a place and can assist with the burden of medical bills and other unforeseen circumstances when you don’t want to deal with another thing as you have too much on your plate, when you are waiting for a doctor’s appointment or your chemo to finish or a nurse to do a medical, or a Life Insurance company to answer your query or assess your claim.
The Life Hub that Harbour Wealth has been quietly building, understands the Life Insurance process from start to finish so that when you are applying for, servicing a policy, undergoing underwriting, or claiming for a medical condition, we can take you through the steps. You can sit with your loved one, grieving family member, distraught friend, or sitting in utter disbelief after hearing the news and get through the life-changing moment with all the energy that you need. Having now been on that journey, we have added perspective so that we can give our clients better outcomes. We understand what a medical diagnosis means to someone and how that impacts everyone within the circle of the affected person. We have the experience to really be a part of your journey from application through to claims. We can be the third cog in your wheel of healing and recovering or grieving and disbelieving.
