Business Risk Solutions

This isn't an article about insurance but it definitely demonstrates the value of insurance.

Richard's journey took him from earning $300,000/year to a diagnosis of prostate cancer that kept him away from his business, ultimately losing his business, now relying on Foodbank for free and discounted groceries and they're looking at selling their property.

A good insurance advisor, income protection and some sort of keyperson coverage wouldn't have saved Richard from getting cancer. But it would have saved him and his family from losing their way of life.

From $300k a year to selling their home: An Australian family's fall into food insecurity Nearly half of low-income households in Australia are experiencing food insecurity, according to food relief charity Foodbank. Regional and single-parent families are more at risk.

An interesting article here.

On the positive, there are some very good financial advisors and genuine financial coaches that are also excellent at creating educational content. But on the negative, there are wannabe influencers (qualified and not qualified) that are maybe more motivated by likes and followers.

By all means, listen to financial advice on socials. But are they just fear mongering & criticising or also giving you solutions? Do you own research on what you've been told. If you're unsure about something ask questions.

Experts' warning as one in three Aussies turn to social media for financial advice Experts warn that the rise of "finfluencers" — or financial influencers — could negatively impact how young people interact with money.

Last Friday Duque and I met with Dave from Central Coast Distilling Co. and Jay from Bread & Brewery to discuss them getting on board for his upcoming Guinness World Record attempt in MOWvember.

Both guys are keen to support the cause and are more passionate than we could have hoped.
Subject to acquiring a 24hr liquor license we may even see a mobile bar onsite for the event. This may include a couple of new drops that will be inspired by Carlos's run.

I'd suggest following both these businesses and getting down to Morisset to check them out one Sunday afternoon.

Preparing for a presentation on Friday where I'm interviewing a 35yr old client who was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year and made a trauma claim. I just put this slide together and thought I'd share it.

NOTE: this client is also a friend so some people might know who it is. The age and occupation are true. But the income, levels of cover and vehicles have been changed for their privacy.

How many of us would never consider hooking up the caravan for a holiday without both the 4wd & van being insured? Yet we head off every day without thinking about the consequences of something happening to us or our ability to earn an income?

Preparing advice this afternoon for new clients that currently have insurances in place. Without compromising their needs at all (we're reducing some benefits and increasing others) the advice will save their super fund $200/mth and their pay packet will also be $200/mth better off.

Who'd like to have their retirement savings grow by an extra $200 every month?

Who'd like to be paying an extra $200 off the mortgage each month, take the family to a nice restaurant or get a couple of extra streaming services?

Send a message to learn more

Sunday......
Recharge body & mind with a run with mates
Refresh the purpose by revisiting goals, pipeline & systems.
Relax with footy and whiskey!!

My tip for handling workplace stress:

Always surround yourself with smiling faces.....even if it's just your M&M's coffee cup 😊

I want to give a shout out to Shane Williams and his staff at Total Workwear Kotara.

The amazing staff have patience and a friendliness that never disappoints. They also have a range of products much broader than I realised. Apart from owning Business Risk Solutions, I'm also part of a running group. For 3yrs they've helped me with work uniforms and in the past 6mths they've helped with running tops, hoodies, trucker caps & more.

From tradies to corporate to sporting groups, these guys are brilliant and so eager to help.

Please have a listen to the second 10mins of this podcast. Every day 9 Australians take their own life – and on average, seven of those are men.

Today, microphones across Triple M’s 49 radio stations will switch off for the network’s annual No Talk Day, with a goal to create space for listeners to check-in with themselves and their mates.

Now in its sixth year, between 6am and 6pm, Triple M will pause all shows, announcers and ads, along with all news and traffic reports, as a reminder to make mental health a priority and encourage listeners to start a conversation for themselves or with someone they care about.

‎The Briefing: If Triple M shuts up, will you open up? on Apple Podcasts ‎Show The Briefing, Ep If Triple M shuts up, will you open up? - 30 June 2024

In the last 2yrs a young friend started a circus school business after many years of performing. Her business, Three Rings Aerials, is now nominated for the Local Business Awards.

If you know Kara Bissett, her circus school and you'd like to support them, the link to vote for them will be in the comments below.

Three Rings Aerial & Circus Arts

Three Rings Aerial & Circus Arts Circus skills are a fun and unique way to build friendships, strength, flexibility and creativity. Beginner, intermediate and advanced aerial and ground circus arts. Including silks, lyra/hoop, trapeze, sling, acrobatics, acrobalance, handstands, juggling, hula hooping, unicycling, tightrope and mo

Are you a small business owner that would like a more streamlined way of managing your cashflow or you possibly find it stressful coming up with the funds to pay your GST each quarter?

Alternatively, you might be a bookkeeper with numerous clients in this situation.

If so, you might want to come along to hear what Peter Scott has to share this Friday morning. In the process you'll be sharing breakfast & ideas with 30-40 mostly business owners over breakfast.

Let me know if you're interested.

This is a new gin distillery based at Morissett. Offering sit down tastings, online sales and can be found at various markets,

A husband and wife passion that's become their livelihood as they've taken the courageous step to back themselves & leave their secure roles.

Three things happened last Friday:
1. An enlightened conversation about potential insurance needs.
2. I discovered that the best client meetings end with a private tasting.
3. My staff discovered why this appointment needed to be on a Friday afternoon 👌

The link to their website will be in the comments.

If anyone has ever climbed to the top of Tomaree you'll know it's a challenging climb but gives a great view.

This Saturday Gary Brown will be running up & down Tomaree until he's completed 100kms. He's expecting it to take 24hrs and the purpose is to raise funds and awareness for Reach Homeless Services.

Reach Homeless Services provides an assertive outreach service to the homeless and needy on Friday nights in Hamilton. Just in the last 6mths they've served over 1,200 meals. Now that we've hit winter more people need their support.

On Saturday morning I'll be heading up to do a few laps with him and then back to Murray's Brewery for lunch. Please feel free to tag along, make your own way to Tomaree and give Gary some encouragement or simply click on the link below to support a great man with a big heart, supporting a very worthy cause.

Donate to Gary brown 100k mt tomaree mountain challenge, organized by Gary Brown Want to join me in making a difference? I'm raising money to benefit Reach Ne… Gary Brown needs your support for Gary brown 100k mt tomaree mountain challenge

The real value of an Insurance Advisor isn't when you take out the policy, it's when you make a claim.

For Life, TPD and Trauma claims you're only making the claim once. But for Income Protection you're making a claim every month. That can mean filling out forms and reliving the incident, treatment, pain & prognosis every month.

For one client who has been on claim for a few years, they lost their business and will unlikely ever return to work, reliving this every month was what tipped their mental health and they began having suicidal thoughts last June.

The client started seeing a psychologist for a suicidal prevention plan and I started talking to the claims manager to see what we could agree on to make things easier for our client.

It was agreed that every 3mths I'd call the claims manager with an update on the prognosis, exercise physiologist, physio and psychologist activity. We'd both make notes and then he approves 3mths worth of claims. The client hasn't needed to complete a monthly claim form since last June.

On Thursday I was chatting with my client and getting an update on their various treatments and they proudly advised they're still seeing the psychologist but no longer needs the su***de prevention treatment.

Their next words were the best 'pay day' I think I've had......
"Anthony, what you've done and what you're doing, is one of the main reason I don't need the su***de treatment anymore".

"How long will it take to get paid if I make a claim?"

Here's the timeline for a clients recent cancer claim.

Client is under 40, fit, healthy, non smoker, young family, mortgage, both spouses are working, client had a cancer prior to applying for cover.

29.01.2019 - Insurance commences with exclusion for the previous cancer.

26.01.2024 - Australia Day. Message from client advising they have cancer.

29.01.2024 - Claim forms requested from OnePath. Messaged client with update and asked how the weekend was. The reply..... "Concentrating on what I can control and giving the kids lots of cuddles & kisses".

30.01.2024 - Claim forms received and sent to client.

06.02.2024 - Completed claim forms returned by client.

13.02.2024 - Insurance proceeds paid to clients bank account. OnePath advise that they get a financial planning benefit. They can seek financial planning advice to help sort out financial situation and OnePath will reimburse up to $2,000 towards the cost of advice.

No, cancer doesn't discriminate.

Yes, insurance companies do want to pay claims.

No, you don't need to have a perfect medical history to get cover.

While the title of this article might make us chuckle, working as an insurance advisor I see the stats all the time. The fact is every year too many Australian men die from preventable causes because we fail to self check, go to doctors, take this seriously.

Have a listen to the second half of this podcast for an interview with a young guy diagnosed early with testicular cancer.
It's a short interview.

‎The Briefing: Why King Charles' prostate is a reminder to check your balls on Apple Podcasts ‎Show The Briefing, Ep Why King Charles' prostate is a reminder to check your balls - 21 Jan 2024

Some people have a Transition To Retirement strategy. This week I had a Transition To '24 strategy.
As per photos this week involved working on the business, in the business and on myself to prepare for a big year.

Yes, I am 50+ and as you'll see I still think the best pipeline & process tracking tools are whiteboards 😊

Nowadays, anyone giving insurance advice should be doing preassessments for their clients to get an understanding of how an insurance application might be assessed.
It saves the client and everyone involved time and angst, especially if it was unlikely cover was possible or if one provider might offer more favourable terms.

Considering the time of year, here is a potential preassessment for Santa Claus 🎅 😊

“We’re looking for lump sum insurances for Keyperson Cover for the CEO of a company that trades internationally. If this guy was out of action I think it would equate to a global crisis.
The client is 1.83m and 118kgs. I’ve already calculated a BMI of 35.24. He is 1,752 years old (but maybe we can ignore that minor detail 😊).
He works from home, although one day/year he travels overseas. When he travels, he visits most countries.
This one day does turn in to a pub crawl and he has milk or beer at most clients he visits.
Will he need to go for a medical? On that pub crawl he also eats a lot of cookies and cake so his blood sugar levels may be raised for a few months.
On his travels he does work at heights above 10metres. But for the rest of the year he is a factory supervisor.
His mental health is fine……you could say he’s a very jolly fellow.

I assume we’d be looking at a travel exclusion for those regions that are registered on DFAT as posing a risk, also an exclusion for chimney work.
His BMI is fine but with that binge drinking I figure you’ll want bloods and liver testing.

Merry Christmas Everyone 🎅😊

In the office on the weekend....woohoo!!
Working to get clients cover in place before Christmas.

Sitting back tonight, enjoying a gin and reflecting on the last fortnight. It's arguably the biggest fortnight of my career as a risk advisor. I think every client I've met with is an existing or returning former client, some have been with me for 15yrs.

Of the last fortnight's clients we've had breast cancer, heart disease, benign tumour, career ending arm injury, blood cancer.

Some have gone from having kids at school to becoming grandparents. Or from primary school kids to now having a designated driver. Or from finishing an apprenticeship to now looking to start their own business. Or from 1 medical practice to having two.

One of these clients has a box with instructions for the family if something happens and I've been told my card is in that box because the family just needs to call me.

With changing circumstances, insurance needs change too. This fortnight, without one client's risk coverage being compromised, we've saved this collective of clients probably $30,000/year.

So as I reflect with my gin, that's why I enjoy being a risk specialist 👌

November is Mens Health Awareness Month and a big part of that is mental health.
In Australia, now more than ever, us men recognise & acknowledge our own mental health issues. But unfortunately data shows we're still reluctant to seek help. Consequently, 3 out of 4 su***des in Australia are men.

The second half of this podcast is worth listening to if you or someone you know is reluctant to talk about these issues.

‎The Briefing: Men rank mental health as #1 - what are we doing about it? on Apple Podcasts ‎Show The Briefing, Ep Men rank mental health as #1 - what are we doing about it? - 25 Oct 2023

Who needs Excel Spreadsheets, Google Tools and ChatGPT when you have A4 paper, benchtop and whiteboard? 🤷🏼‍♂️👍👀

Gary Brown is in to the 90s and working hard.
Get donating people.

Gary Brown is 66% in to his 100km run along the beach. It's bloody soft sand. Looking at the time he'll do, it looks like being tougher than UTA100.

He'd love some support if anyone wants to call down to say hi or run a few laps.

Or even just post messages of support on his wall.

His quads are hurting but he's tough.