Case Study – Young Life Cut Short

In this claims case study, financial adviser, Ted Zappara, shares the heartbreaking story of how he lost his daughter at the age of just 22. As an adviser, he had previously insisted all his children take out life insurance, and he shares how this approach means his granddaughter will be provided for well into her future.

Lauren was 22 and had been out celebrating a birthday. She was the mother of our first beautiful grandchild, Ava Rose. It was a very, very hot evening so when she came home – she was staying at our place that night because we were looking after Ava – she decided to go for a swim. She simply got in the water, went to the spa side, put her head back, and fell asleep, unfortunately in the water.

We were all having breakfast the next morning and didn’t know where she was. I went outside to put the spa cover back down and found Lauren at the bottom of the pool, and had to retrieve her.

Circumstances change your life in an instant. When something happens, the best thing you can ever have is the support of everyone, including your adviser, around you.

The events of Lauren’s passing have absolutely crystalized in my mind that everybody, at some point, may have an event that will necessitate our support. I cannot be more confident of the success of our industry if we maintain the focus on being there for our clients, not just through the good times but, more importantly, through the bad times. And I believe it’s our role, in the advisory service, to not only facilitate our clients’ investments, but make sure their security, and the security of their family, is paramount.

Insurance within itself may be intangible, but it is absolutely, without any question, one of the most important facilities that any family should have.

Insurance within itself may be intangible, but it is absolutely, without any question, one of the most important facilities that any family should have.

I insisted with all my children that they had their insurance in place. We know now that our granddaughter will have financial security, basically for the rest of her life. The insurance is going to allow Ava to go to private school, and to have all of the comforts that she may want in her later life.

I would imagine that in the event that we did not have the insurance in place, the burden of financial support would have rested on her new mother, or guardian, Kelly, our eldest daughter, who was only 24 years old at that point. It’s not Ava who would have suffered, because we would have made sure that didn’t happen. But individually my daughter Kelly would have really struggled, and indeed it would have been another burden upon Eileen (my wife) and I, albeit one which we would have gladly accepted.

The knowledge and the comfort and the security of having those funds have enabled Kelly to maintain a lifestyle for Ava that would not have been possible without her insurance.

For more video testimonials to use with your clients, visit the OnePath Life Risk Tool Box on Adviser Advantage (www.onepath.com.au/adviser).