Craig Bigelow

20/07/2022

Here is an effective way to manage your own insurance policies and keep track of your cover and premiums.

Let's face it, the documents that come back from the insurance companies aren't always clear.

We use this framework to pinpoint areas to discuss and make adjustments to help retain only the benefits required.

Just this week, I have saved over $30k pa in premiums for my clients using this exact tool.

Download your own template (link in comments)

12/07/2022

Insurance premiums have been increasing and this is affecting those of us with policies.

There are four main factors that are driving these premium increases.

This is the first of four videos I wanted to share explaining why these increases are occurring.

Understanding the factors behind these premium changes will hopefully provide some context and even peace of mind around the future pricing changes to expect.

11/07/2022

Annual tax statements are being generated as we speak.

If you are waiting on this, we did the call around to grab the details from each of the providers.

BT - Documents are being sent starting 14th July
NEOS - Sent between the 11th & 17th of July
OnePath - expecting the end of July
PPS Mutual - sent by the end of July
MetLife - sent between the 1st & 14th of July
Asteron - starting end of July
TAL - starting on the 28th of July
MLC - available from the 29th of July
Zurich - mid-end of July
Resolution Life - Last week of July or 1st week of August
AIA - end of July

These will be emailed or mailed depending on your preference.

Also available through your online portal (if you have registered).

If you have an SMSF, I would suggest contacting your adviser as these sometimes need to be specifically requested.

20/10/2021

What can you do with your now extinct Income Protection Policies?

If you have rushed out and signed up for Income Protection ahead of the 1st October cutoff or have an existing policy this message is for you.

In my opinion, it is inevitable that if you fall into this category over the next few years the insurance companies will continue to increase the price you pay for the existing, more favourable income protection contracts forcing you to choose between staying, switching to the new offers or cancelling your cover.

I have spent a heap of time working with my clients to build individual plans to navigate these pricing changes and make adjustments to existing policies before having to make this 'last jump'.

To explain this in more detail, I've written this article outlining my thoughts on how this will look in the future and what you can do to take control of your policies allowing you to remain with the more feature-rich current policies for as long as possible.

Check it out here 👀 - https://www.truepride.com.au/blog/options-for-extinct-income-protection-policies

PS - if you want to grab a copy of my checklist so you can manage your own policy drop "checklist" below and I will send this across to you

20/07/2021

Income Protection rules are changing again, want to know if/how these will affect you?

The government has announced new changes to the income protection insurance that is available for Australians. These changes will come into effect on 1 October and it's important that you understand what they mean for your family.

I've put together a handy guide of everything you need to know about these changes so you can get prepared in time.

Watch the video below as I will explain these changes and more importantly how these changes may impact you in everyday language.

APRA has announced further changes that will affect Income Protection policies from October 2021.I have broken these changes down for you as well as what the...

04/07/2021

Is it better to have your insurance inside or outside of super?

It's a common question that deserves some consideration.

In this article, I've broken down the pros and cons of each.

My best piece of advice.

Without any further analysis of your circumstances, it's tough to make the right call on what would be the right option for you.

The following article will help you make an educated decision should you be tossing this up right now!

Are you wondering if it makes more sense to have your personal insurance in super or outside of super? Let's have a look at the pros and cons of each!

25/06/2021

Did you know that there are over 22 Million active insurance policies in Australia (source ASIC)?

Given that there are approximately 13.5 Million of us that are working-age here in Australia, that means that on average each of us has almost 2 policies.

A big portion of these policies are held through our super funds.

Even though we have lots of active policies, research conducted by Rice Warner suggests that without changes, cover through super only accounts for 38% of the required cover for families with kids.

I speak a lot about having "enough" cover.

To me, this means not having less or more than you need.

Helping you check whether you have enough cover easily was the reason I built the free quiz online.

This will take less than 5 mins to complete.

I've dropped the link in the comments if you want to have a crack at this yourself ✌🏼

23/06/2021

What's white, black with a touch of blue? Me! 🟦 🟦 🟦⬛️ 🟦

2 weeks ago, I earned my blue belt after almost 3 years of training Jiu-Jitsu.

I have worked hard to achieve this!

One thing that I love about Jiu-Jitsu is that it is based on merit!

There are no shortcuts.

I have found the journey really similar to running the business.

There are days I feel like giving up.

There are days I feel like I am going backwards.

As my professors have always said, there is no secret to getting better at Jiu-Jitsu - just keep showing up!

Not a bad lesson to take away from all of this.

21/06/2021

Are you afraid of sharks?

It is pretty likely that you are with around 75% of Australians admitting to this fear.

In 2020, there were 26 shark attacks in Australia (with 8 being fatal)

Want to take a guess at how many people were diagnosed with cancer in the same period? 145,583!

So why are we so much more afraid of sharks when the prevalence is so much lower?

The reason is based on something known as the AVAILABILITY HEURISTIC.

This is when we make judgments about the likelihood of an event based on how easily an example, instance, or case comes to mind.

Now as you know, I love insurance 😍.

The reason I love insurance so much is that it has the ability to reduce the financial burden when/if things go wrong.

There are also lifestyle factors that can reduce the chances of cancer.

Cancer Queensland has a really cool tool to assess some basic lifestyle factors and provides some suggestions based on your responses.

Check it out below (link in the comments)

11/05/2021

The time has flown by and this year marks five years since I started my own business 🥳

It has been anything but smooth sailing.

This video was a good opportunity for me to reflect on my past and appreciate the milestones.

I've learned a lot during this time, and I wanted to share some of the key takeaways.

I've been in business for 5 years now. And while I have learned a lot of things, there are five lessons that stand out. These lessons not only apply to busin...

09/04/2021

I never really understood the reason why having values for a business was so important.

I was always of the belief that we knew what we did, why we did it, and how we were different.

I was wrong.

Whilst these things were true, these loosely held values meant different things to all of us.

They didn't galvanize us as a team and as a business supporting you.

Having spent the time creating these values and sharing them with the team and now you, I am really proud of each of them.

Check them out and let me know what you think ✌🏼

I wanted to share the values I developed for the business with you so you can see what makes us tick. If these resonate with you, keep watching for more free...