Claim Stories

I met with clients Mr and Mrs Richards late last year to review their personal insurance
cover. By talking through their insurance and their recent health history I found out that
Mrs Richards had broken her ankle 18 months previous. They had specified injury cover
with AIA which pays up to $5000 per month, for up to 12 months, depending on the
severity of the break.
We submitted the claim to see if the broken ankle qualified and they were paid out $13,000
just before Christmas! $13,000 they didn’t even know they could claim for.
Their relationship with their previous insurance adviser had fallen quiet unfortunately so
they didn’t think to check with him to see if the broken ankle qualified for anything.

I was sitting with a new client a few years ago, lovely lady in her late 50s, to review her insurance. She had old life and trauma insurance with the ASB Bank, underwritten by Sovereign originally (now AIA). As we talked, the room heated up and she rolled up her sleeves. On her arm was a large bandage covering almost all of her arm between her wrist and elbow.

I asked what happened and she said she had a mole removed. We carried on our conversation but I was thinking to myself – a mole removed doesn’t result in a bandage that large?

So, I asked again what happened.

She said the mole was removed and tested for cancer and came back as a melanoma cancer, so she had to go back a 2nd time and have a large circumference of skin and tissue taken from around where the mole had been. This was tested to make sure the margins showed no cancer and they had in fact removed all the melanoma from her arm.

This was only done in her lunchbreak from work and she returned to work after, so in her mind, not anything that was major.

She held just over $150k of trauma insurance with ASB so I told her we may be able to get a partial claim paid for the melanoma mole. We completed the forms and I got her specialist reports from the dermatologist, and we waited for hopefully a claim approval. A week later we got the best news – because of the severity of the melanoma cancer, ASB/Sovereign were paying out the full $150,000 of trauma insurance!

As my client said, this was life changing. It meant she could pay off the rest of her mortgage, leaving her mortgage free, and she could then cut her hours down to 3 days a week and be able to spend 2 days a week looking after her grandkids, which had been a dream since they had been born.
A simple insurance review and it quite simply changed her life.

My lovely long-term clients rang to say Mr Smith had been diagnosed with melanoma on his back and did their health insurance cover seeing a dermatologist about having it removed by a plastic surgeon, rather than their GP. It was quite large and on the top of his shoulder. I said their NIB health insurance would cover this removal, but they also had trauma insurance and let’s see if we have a partial claim here for the skin cancer.

Again, the full amount of their trauma insurance was paid out, more than $180,000 simply for a skin cancer removed off Mr Smith’s shoulder and he was back at work the next day. As a landscape gardener the message about covering up with a shirt, sunscreen and a hat then hit a bit more home after that scare!

People ask me all the time if health insurance is really necessary for children. My answer is always yes, and I have seen so many cases of how this was hugely helpful for the family. Even in just giving Mum and Dad peace of mind that they can have a condition investigated quickly and find out what's going on with their child as soon as possible, rather than wait in the public health system for a specialist appointment or appointment with the hospital.

I had clients years ago with gorgeous 4-year-old girls. They liked to play rough and leap around the lounge together, jumping off the couch and pretending they were wrestlers. One little girl thought it would be a great idea to pick up her twin and try to throw her. She did manage to pick her up and launch her sister onto the couch, but in doing so managed to give herself a hernia.

Hernias are very painful and require surgery to correct, and they were very happy to hear that through their AIA health insurance they could be referred to a paediatric surgeon quickly, and have the hernia mended via surgery quickly at Starship.

I have had clients who have used their health insurance to seek help with their young children’s hearing and repeated ear infections, that then result in grommets having to be inserted into the child’s ears, sometimes in multiple operations as they can fall out and this can happen quickly and easily through their health insurance claim, rather than waiting on public hospital waiting lists.

Nobody wants their children to be suffering with repeated ear infections, on a waiting list for an operation.

My client phoned with the devastating news that she had been diagnosed with a benign brain tumour, and did she have any cover that would help them get this treated. I am always so happy to be able to tell my clients that we have put in place really good quality insurance protection plans that then can be used in these scary times.

My client had AIA health insurance and trauma cover where we were able to claim on both. The treatment she needed for the brain tumour was not available in NZ and only available in Australia. But the amazing thing was that part of her AIA health insurance included treatment overseas when the treatment needed was not available in NZ.

The peace of mind knowing she could source treatment quickly and easily in another country was priceless, as well as receiving the funds from her trauma insurance so the family had a cash injection at the same time.

My client bought a house and we talked about life insurance, trauma cover and mortgage repayment insurance for her. She took all these policies and a year later was diagnosed with a really aggressive form of breast cancer.

Her trauma insurance paid out which meant she had more than $250,000 to put towards chemotherapy that she needed, with a drug not funded by Pharmac and then after 10 months of chemo she could claim on her mortgage repayment insurance to make sure her mortgage was paid while she spent 6 months recovering from extensive surgery to rid her body of the remaining cancer.

Without that protection she wouldn’t have been able to access the non-funded chemo treatment without possibly having to sell her home or put herself in much more debt trying to keep the home and find the money for chemotherapy.

A client experienced damage to the windscreen of their high-value vehicle. Due to the specialist nature of the vehicle, a standard windscreen replacement was not suitable. I immediately coordinated with the insurer and dealership, arranged specialist windscreen removal and replacement services, and secured approval for the required repairs.

The entire claim was organised and approved within 24 hours, ensuring a seamless process for the client. As a result, the repair was completed promptly, and the client had their vehicle back the same day, with minimal disruption to their routine.

Directly from a client about one of our advisers, Jodi Imlach:

Recently, I became a solo mum and needed to look at a more affordable option for my health insurance. Jodi went through everything available, found options that would work for my circumstances, and then sat at my kitchen table patiently explaining it all to me. I never felt rushed, pressured, or like just another policy number. She made sure I understood exactly what I was choosing and why.

Not long after I signed up, my hand started going numb. Jodi immediately helped get the testing process underway, and I was diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome. Then we hit a major hurdle: my insurer didn't want to cover the surgery that had been recommended. That was when I really got to experience what it means to have Jodi in your corner.

For four months, I don't think she gave that insurance company a moment's peace. She challenged the decision, pushed for answers, and kept fighting for them to honour what was clearly outlined in the terms of my policy. She was relentless, knowledgeable, and completely determined to make sure I received the support I was entitled to.

And she succeeded. My surgery is now fully covered and scheduled for next month.

What a rockstar.

When I moved to New Zealand 16 years ago, I had absolutely no idea that people like Jodi existed, someone who could help you navigate the confusing world of insurance and healthcare, advocate for you when things go wrong, and be there when you need support. Now that I know this kind of help is available, I honestly cannot imagine why anyone would try to navigate it all alone.

And the remarkable thing is that Jodi provides this support with such generosity, commitment, and genuine care for her clients.

Why wouldn't you want someone like Jodi on your team?

The only answer I can come up with is that people simply don't know they have the option. If standing on a mountaintop and shouting about how brilliant she is would help get the word out, I'd do it. Jodi is an emotional support kitty for her clients and an ferocious tiger for getting results.

I cannot recommend her highly enough, and I feel incredibly lucky to have her in my corner.