Alright, alright. OF COURSE women find sports cars sexy. But if I put the word insurance in the title of this blog would you have read it? Didn’t think so. Why? Because, let’s face it, insurance ain’t sexy. Actually, most of us Aussies think insurance is such an un-sexy subject that we’d rather not talk about it. And because we don’t talk about it, we’re not really well informed about it either.

In preparation for this blog, I Googled the question: ‘How many Australians are underinsured?’ And the results were pretty startling. Statistics from various sources all point to the same thing: A large number of Australians don’t actually have insurance. An even larger number have insurance that would be totally inadequate if they needed it to kick in and support their current lifestyle tomorrow.

Many personal loans and mortgages have an insurance component. Your superannuation has insurance built in too – usually along the lines of disability cover, income protection and life insurance. And while they offer a basic, generic level of cover, in most cases, it’s just not enough.

If you were diagnosed with something horrible and life-threatening, your medical insurance might be enough to cover some of the bills, your superannuation would probably pay something towards loss of income, your mortgage payments might even be covered for a little while.

BUT… The question to ask yourself is: ‘Am I certain that it will all be taken care of?’

Just as you review your investment strategy, your financial commitments and loans from time to time, you should also review your insurance.

I know, you’d rather watch paint dry.… However, if you don’t, not only do the stats say your policies probably won’t be adequate to meet your needs, but I’ve heard enough stories to tell you that in my experience, it usually isn’t. Usually isn’t. That’s a pretty big call.

For example, did you know that under some superannuation policies dependents over the age of 18 may have to pay tax on a payout they receive if the policy holder dies? Or that if you’re just separated, and not officially divorced, then your former spouse may be able to make a claim on your death benefit? It’s critical to know exactly how much money your family would need if something happened to you, even if you’re not the sole provider.

The fine print of these documents is crucial, and so, investing some time with an insurance broker (who lives and breathes this stuff) to work out what you’ve got, what you need, and where the gaps are, can make all the difference because you’ll get the peace of mind that comes with knowing that if something disastrous should happen to your health that affects your livelihood, then financially, you can definitely keep your head above water.

Over the coming weeks this blog is going to focus on insurance. You see, I’m in the business of helping people make their home ownership and property investment dreams come true, and I’d hate to see those dreams come crashing down for the sake of an insurance check-up. So let me do the research and you can do the reading. And if I can convince you to check your policies, my work here is done. But, don’t forget, mortgage broking is my first real love, so if I can help you with that, don’t hesitate to get in touch.