The Project
Bruno came to us as a young cane farmer in 1979 to address his superannuation planning. He was married to Maria and owned a farm as part of unit trust with his parents, which he inherited when they later passed away. After their passing, Bruno purchased an adjacent farm for $1.2 million with a 900k loan. On this purchase we advised on 900k life cover & critical illness of $500k
Our relationship with Bruno and Maria led to us advising their son Vince on TPD and critical illness coverage. As we explained critical illness to Vince, he asked if his father had similar cover because he had a heart attack a year earlier. We spoke to Bruno and he confirmed the heart attack, but didn’t mention it because he thought it would affect his life insurance.
We filed the claim for the heart attack, which paid $500k and while his life insurance did reduce by $500k, it had a buyback provision and we reinstated it after a year. The payout helped reduce the farm loan, purchased new machinery and funded an 8-week Italian holiday.
The Outcomes
- Ongoing superannuation advice.
- Appropriate insurance coverage for debts.
- Referrals to other professional advisers.
- Critical illness claim of $500k.
- Multi-generational relationship.
Given the timespan of our relationship with Bruno & Maria, there have been a lot of interesting twists and turns, Bruno neglecting to tell us about a heart attack was one of them! As that story shows, you should never assume what an outcome will be. If not for a comment by Bruno’s son, Bruno may have missed out on a $500k critical illness claim. That money made a significant difference to Bruno and Maria’s life and business.
