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School teacher, Mel, discovered the benefits of having Trauma Insurance in her early thirties...
Mel, 34, is a Primary School Teacher. Six years ago on the advice of her older brother, Mel talked to a financial adviser about insurance protection. Although not married at the time and with no children or major financial commitments, she insured her life and took out income protection and trauma cover of $200,000.
Mel's main interest in life, aside from Darren, her partner of two years, is netball. Priding herself on keeping fit and healthy, she is a longstanding member of her local club side with a reputation as a reliable goal shooter. One Sunday at an away match two hours from home, she was waiting to go onto the court when she suddenly blacked out and collapsed. She was rushed to hospital, semi-conscious. One of her team mates contacted Darren, and he hurried to the hospital to be with her.
Mel regained full consciousness at the hospital, and after urgent and extensive medical testing, she was diagnosed as having suffered a minor stroke. This news came as both a relief and a shock to her and Darren – relief that she had not suffered something even more serious, and shock that someone her age could have a stroke, a medical condition they had both previously thought only affected much older people.
After a period of rehabilitation, she made an almost full recovery, but was told that she would be on medication for the rest of her life to prevent further strokes. While she was convalescing, her brother reminded her to check with her financial adviser about whether any of the insurance policies she’d taken out a few years ago would cover her now. Mel did so and learnt she could claim under her trauma policy, since stroke was one of the stipulated medical conditions. With her adviser’s help she made the claim and received the full payment of $200,000.
She and Darren paid off a substantial part of the home loan they had only recently taken out. They also decided they needed a holiday, and used some of the money to take a luxury three-week trip to the USA and Mexico. Mel also claimed on her Crisis benefit under her income protection policy while she was off work. This helped cover their everyday expenses such as their home loan and other bills.
Mel returned to work after four months, and resumed playing netball two months after that, when the new season began.
Special thanks to Asteron for providing this claim story.
