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3 August 2020
Real people, real protection for Wellington
Life is one big rollercoaster of twists and turns. Crombie Lockwood's Wellington Life and Health team wish more people knew that having a broker and the right insurance can appease the financial pressures that come with those inevitable hurdles.
When a client calls insurance broker John Galvin, the circumstances are more often than not traumatic.
John works in the Life and Health team in the Wellington branch of Crombie Lockwood, dealing with life, medical, disability and income cover alongside brokers Lisa Manks, Ian Dallas, and Broker Support, Karlien Haak.
John says he and his team always maintain a positive outlook.
“Dealing with people’s claims can be stressful, but it can also be massively rewarding,” he says.
“In our team, we try and make dealing with claims as easy as possible. You get a lot of personal enjoyment out of being part of the process that can help clients get back on their feet.”
John Galvin, Life and Health broker, Wellington
John says he wishes people were more proactive with health insurance.
“In all covers, including life, medical and so on, there’s a successful claims rate of around 94 to 95 percent,” he says.
“For life cover, that would be 98 to 99 percent through all providers.”
How a life and health insurance broker helps you
When starting out, a broker will take the time to go through an individual’s financial situation and what they are most concerned about when it comes to cover.
“They will then help match the right cover with the right person and their individual circumstances,” John says. “We’re also there to negotiate terms because many people will have some medical issues that make the set-up less straightforward.”
Then, when it comes to managing future claims, a broker will deal with policy documents and advocate on the client’s behalf.
“Everything we’re doing is there to try and make things better and easier for the clients. I don’t work for the insurance companies; I work for my clients.”
While a client may be in good health now, John says that life and health cover is “for future-you and your future-family”.
“We don’t like to think about mortality. We don’t like to think that this is what’s ahead of us, but it’s a fact.”
“Take the average working couple with children and a home loan. Should one of the parents fall terminally ill or die suddenly, life insurance can really take the pressure off.
“Life insurance is very altruistic in its essence,” John says. “You don’t get life insurance for yourself; you get it for the people you care about.”
Or, if we’re talking about a hip replacement or a form of cancer, the current healthcare system may not be, or remain, a sturdy backstop.
“If you think about the ageing population and the impact on the health system, health cover becomes an absolute "no brainer’,” he concludes.
“It might have been seen as a luxury, but I think as we go forward it is going to be an absolute necessity.”
“Life insurance is very altruistic in its essence,” says John Galvin. “You don’t get life insurance for yourself; you get it for the people you care about.”