Our next broker hero showcase is Joanna Streames, from Velvet Mortgage and Insure Services.
Joanna’s Hero Case Study
In the past I haven’t spoken to my friends and family about protection, as I didn’t want to feel like I was selling to them. A couple of years ago I had an unsettling dream about the consequences of not speaking to someone about critical illness. After this I decided I’d rather have the rejection than the guilt if something happened to those I care about, and I hadn’t educated them or set a policy up to protect them.
When my sister had her baby this encouraged me to speak to her about protection, particularly as she was a 41 year old smoker and our mother had died at that age. She and her husband were at a higher risk being older parents and smokers; that was the painful truth unfortunately. My brother-in-law is also the only breadwinner. At first, she was offended. I explained the risks and that we had lived through this ourselves. I was persistent with her and in March 2021 she finally took out cover, which included a joint life policy (also covering global treatment) and a British Friendly income protection policy for her husband. My sister didn’t take any critical illness cover, so I purposely selected British Friendly so it would give a small income for their family, if her husband needed to become a carer for either my sister or my nephew.
On my daughter’s 18th birthday I received a call from my brother-in-law; I thought he was ringing to wish her a happy birthday. Sadly this wasn’t the case. He was ringing to say that my sister had had a big stroke. This was a huge shock and a scary time for us all. Unfortunately my sister’s vocal cords have been damaged and she now needs to use a frame inside and a wheelchair outside; her little boy isn’t even two yet.
A few days after the stroke happened my sister’s focus was back, although the physical elements weren’t. She started messaging me worrying about money, so it was a relief when I could confirm that British Friendly would pay-out on her claim. The policy gives £500 a month carer’s support and she recently received a back payment of £1,625. In addition, they are trying to make arrangements for my sister’s mother-in-law to stay with her for a couple of days a week enabling her husband to work for those days on top of the monthly benefit.
This money has made a huge difference to their lives, particularly as they live in rented accommodation. In fact, this money came through before the extra government support did. The policy pay-out and the extra potential support it can give is life-changing and a massive relief during a very difficult time. It’s been a heart-wrenching time for all the family, but I’m relieved that I persisted in my aim to protect my loved ones.
