Another example of insurance protection in action - Graham and Wide's story

The facts
In September 2006, Graham and his wife Wide refinanced their mortgage through their broker John Minihan of Australian Brokers North Coast in Port Macquarie NSW. Both were aged 51, and they took the protection that John offered them alongside their mortgage. In February 2008, Graham contacted us to let us know that Wide had been diagnosed with cancer. Shortly after claiming for this serious illness, they received a lump sum payment.

The mortgage client - Graham
“Wide went to visit our daughter Jodie who was living in Armadale and on her return complained that she was dizzy and felt unwell. She went to the GP she had been seeing for 30 years and he told her that her blood pressure was high and not to worry. Still not feeling well a week later, she sought a second opinion from another doctor who immediately sent her to hospital. She was diagnosed with lung cancer and secondary brain tumours – we were absolutely stunned.

Following extensive radiation treatment, the tumours shrunk. The doctors have said that if her lungs deteriorate they will then give her chemotherapy. The cancer spread to her bones and she broke her shoulder and had to have a steel plate inserted. Compared to how she was a year ago, she is so much worse. Because of steroid treatment, her muscles have become weak and she has to use a frame to walk. In January she had a couple of seizures and the doctors said it was unlikely that she would survive…..but she bounced back against all the odds. It just seems that lots of things have gone wrong. All she virtually does now is watch TV and sleep and it’s really hard to see her like this as she was always such an active person. It makes it harder to accept knowing that she gave up smoking 25 years ago.

John Minihan has been absolutely excellent. He arranged a mortgage for Jodie and her boyfriend for who we were guarantors, and at the same time we refinanced our mortgage. We all took the ALI protection that John offered and we wouldn’t have thought about it if he had not brought it up. After he talked about it, we realised that it was important.

We have struggled financially for quite a long while. I was made redundant 8 years ago and then took on a cleaning franchise but it’s been tough. We were going to cancel the insurance as we didn’t think we could afford to keep it but John suggested we use the 3 free months to think about it and Jodie suggested we keep it going, so we did. Jodie reminded us that we were covered for serious illnesses and we then contacted ALI who have been absolutely fantastic and couldn’t have been better. Within 3 or 4 days of sending our claim form the cheque
arrived - this absolutely blew us away! One hears stories about insurance companies and when I told Wide that the cheque had arrived, she couldn’t believe it and said “you’re joking”! I would recommend ALI to anyone. The money has eased our financial pressure and has helped us to clear some debts and to pay for medical costs.

It’s been a saviour at a time when the last thing we needed was to have money worries. Being realistic, unfortunately Wide is not going to get any better and we take each day as it comes. She has not complained once and has just accepted it. She’s amazing.”

The Mortgage Broker – John Minihan – Australian Brokers North Coast in NSW

“Graham advised me that ALI were “absolutely brilliant” and that he is extremely grateful to me for having suggested insurance protection. He had anticipated a drawn out exercise and can’t speak highly enough about the ALI staff. While Graham and Wide obviously have major problems, receiving this money has made it a bit easier for them to handle. I have offered insurance as part of the loan process for the last 15 years and have been using the ALI product for several years. This is the first time I am aware of a claim made by one of my clients and I am extremely grateful to ALI for handling this in an efficient and painless way. More than words can express, the ALI product and claim payment have improved their immediate financial position and outlook. All brokers should offer mortgage protection as a matter of course to all of their clients. Our clients respect that we offer it to help protect their financial position

About ALI

Australian Life Insurance (“ALI”) is a specialist risk insurance business that is committed to providing convenient and timely access to insurance protection for people taking out a loan. ALI is committed to ensuring brokers are able to successfully offer insurance to their clients as part of a broader service without losing focus on their core mortgage business.

ALI’s website at www.australianlifeinsurance.com.au contains more information about ALI and these services