Paperwork and the story of Health

I have been accused of not liking paperwork. This is true. Paperwork is a necessity of the modern life. Even though I can appreciate its practical effect then it doesn’t have to mean I have to love it. I am the one doing the bookkeeping at home. Why? Because my dear one wanted me to learn how to do book keeping and to keep an eye on our finances. “It would be good for me”. Sigh. Thanks dear.

A while ago Nico and I had to re examine our health insurance. We were with a company that we thought was professional and good. Truth is; how the heck do you know? You read the small print and then get too bored to pay proper notice. You hope for the best, pay your premium and forget about it.

I met Jason our insurance broker through a business network and no, we didn’t have income protection. Why would we need it? We’re in our 30s, young, healthy etc and so forth and didn’t see a need for it. We naively thought that if we needed an appendix taken out that the Dunedin hospital would look after that. Now that idea would need revisiting we were politely told. I had the distinct impression that we had been missing out on doing something very clever. And I hate missing out.

I told Nico that it would be a good idea for Jason to go over our insurance stuff. As Jason happily went through our data a week later and showed me spreadsheets and impressive understandable data, I wondered how come we always think of these things when it’s usually too late. Jason showed me an independent study which listed companies that are walking the talk (or not) and being the best qualified in the market. The results showed which ones would pay out more if we got slightly flattened by a truck. I was also told that women are more expensive to insure then men which surprised me.

Jason doesn’t always advise his potential clients to change companies. Every situation is different. What IS important is to insure wisely. Nico and I both have income protection now which ensures that if one of us suddenly departs this world or gets sick for an extended period of time, that we are looked after financially and therefore medically. Jason’s company Finluca Services helps to make sure people are not being ripped off and that they are also not being over insured. (http://www.qualityliving.co.nz/)

Why Jason likes to wade through all the papers is beyond me but I’m happy he has done this for us. We are now officially ‘sorted’ and I can go back stuffing the paperwork in a folder and forgetting about it but at least I earned the right to do so.