Originally published in 5 April 2019
“I paid off my mortgage yesterday and it feels great, thank you.”
Recently we had a client, William [name changed to protect client privacy], approach his AFRM adviser, Rob Vitnell, General Manager of AFRM Victoria, to conduct a review of his insurances because he was concerned that premiums were increasing and becoming financially out of reach.
William and Rob then met for their regular review meeting, during which AFRM’s Rob took the time to ask William how he was going generally? Had he been well? What was happening in his life? Had anything changed in his life circumstances since his last review?
In short, Rob took the time to renew the personal relationship and to check on William’s general well-being rather than simply focussing on the initial concern raised – that of increasing insurance premiums.
Through the course of this discussion William disclosed that he had been diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes earlier this year and is now being treated with insulin injections four times per day.
Accordingly, AFRM advised William he had a claim against the very cover he was seeking to reduce. William simply did not realise his current circumstances merited a claim.
Soon after the Trauma claim money had been deposited into his bank account, William called Rob and said:
“I paid off my mortgage yesterday and it feels great, thank you.”
To say William is grateful to Rob and AFRM is an understatement. In fact, he has thanked Rob numerous times for his advice and for AFRM’s quality of service.
If Rob had not taken that extra time “to go the extra mile” and ensure a thorough review process included those important discussions around current state of health; really digging deeper to assess whether it would be wise to reduce cover; William would likely have never made a claim because he was unaware that his policy included a diabetes Trauma benefit.
William then went on to again thank us for our advice, the thoroughness of our review process and the level of service we provide.
Rob noted that it was such a simple gesture but incredibly powerful at the same time.
“We really do make a difference in people’s lives. Even for someone like William that is very confident and successful, you can clearly see that this insurance claim experience and the outcome we have achieved for him has had a profound and positive impact on his and his family’s lives,” Rob said.