Risk & Protection
Understanding the financial risks your household carries, and structuring protection around your circumstances.
Protecting the plan when life changes
A financial plan is built on assumptions: that income continues, debts can be serviced and long-term goals remain funded. Illness, injury or death can disrupt those assumptions quickly.
The right approach is not simply to hold more cover. It is to understand the risks, decide which ones need to be transferred to an insurer, and structure cover around your circumstances. Because we do not charge insurance commissions, our recommendations are made without that conflict.
The main types of personal insurance
- Life insurance — a lump sum if the insured person dies or is diagnosed with a terminal illness, which may help repay debt, support dependants or give a family time to adjust
- Total and permanent disability (TPD) — a lump sum when the policy definition is met; definitions and occupation tests differ between policies, so the detail matters
- Income protection — replaces part of your income if illness or injury prevents you from working; waiting periods, benefit periods and terms all affect cost and usefulness
- Trauma (critical illness) — a lump sum following diagnosis of a specified condition, helping meet treatment costs or reduce debt while a household focuses on recovery
How much cover is appropriate?
The answer depends on the financial consequences of an event — not a generic multiple of income. A considered needs analysis examines:
Some risks can be retained through savings or reduced by changing debt and spending commitments. Others may be too large for a household to absorb. The purpose of advice is to make those choices explicit.
- Mortgage and other debts
- Ongoing household expenses
- The income and unpaid work contributed by each person
- Education and childcare costs
- Existing savings, superannuation and employer benefits
- Business obligations or guarantees, and how long support may be required
Inside or outside superannuation
Life, TPD and income protection can often be held through superannuation or personally. Super-funded premiums can ease household cash flow, but ownership affects tax, policy definitions, benefit release and how much remains invested for retirement. Trauma cover is generally held outside super. The right structure depends on affordability, access to benefits and the role insurance plays in your complete strategy.
Existing cover should also be reviewed after major changes — marriage, separation, a child, a home purchase, a change in income or approaching retirement. Replacing cover can introduce new underwriting, exclusions or waiting periods, so existing policies should never be cancelled until replacement cover is confirmed.
A transparent process, with fees disclosed upfront
We are paid only by our clients. We receive no third-party payments and do not charge insurance commissions, removing financial conflicts so we can work in your best interest.
Understand your position
An initial discovery meeting, at no cost or obligation, to understand your circumstances, priorities and the decisions in front of you.
Clarify the decisions
We identify what matters most, separate immediate needs from longer-term goals and explain the trade-offs in plain language.
Agree the terms of engagement
Where there is mutual fit, we prepare terms of engagement setting out our approach, how we would work together and the fees involved — disclosed fully, on a 12-month upfront basis, before you commit to anything.
Implement and review
We help put the agreed strategy into practice and review it as markets, legislation and your circumstances change.