All the 'little things' that you can claim!

Need to make a claim? Not sure if you have a claim? We tell our clients all the time ‘call us if you even think you have claim, but you’re not sure’.

Here is a reminder of some of the ‘little’ things that you may be able to claim on.

Hospital cash grant: If you have a medical policy it is highly likely that you would be entitled to a sum of money for each night that you spend in a public hospital.

OnePath Member benefits: If you have a OnePath policy (or an ex OnePath medical policy with NIB), you are entitled to 'client membership benefits'. This can be budgeting advice, career counselling, health management, along with general counselling. This is applied for and agreed at the discretion of OnePath/nib, but from our experience this has been a timely and helpful benefit.

Cover while on ACC: Not all income protection policies are offset by ACC, so even if you are being paid by ACC for an injury it is worth calling us to see if you are able to claim under your policy with us.

Fractured bones: Some Income protection and Mortgage protection policies will pay out a lump sum if you fracture certain bones, and can be paid regardless of your wait period.

Funeral benefits: Built into some health and disability covers is a funeral benefit that many don’t realise is available. For example, most Medical policies have a built in funeral fund for the lives assured.

Premium cover: Certain companies cover the cost of your premiums if you are made redundant. Or they cover the cost of a surviving spouse and children if one of the lives assured passes away.

Grief support: Some insurers offer extra funds for clients to get grief support.

Financial Planning: If someone has received a lump sum pay out, some companies offer funds for a financial planner above the insured amount.

Help inside your wait period: At times companies start to help out with medical needs or counselling before they are even eligible to pay a claim. Prevention can help clients return to work and carry on with their lives without the disruption of a long claim.

Landlord cover: Not only can this cover Malicious damage but it can also cover loss of rent in some situations and damage or contamination from an unlawful substance.

Roadside rescue: Some car insurance policies include roadside assistance.

Hidden gradual damage: Some insurers have started to include water damage from baths, sinks and showers.

Windscreen cover: Provided you have full insurance on your car then you can take your car straight to the windscreen place for repair with your policy number. No need for prior approval or even to pay an excess.

Eco friendly replacements: Certain companies will replace your damaged product with the eco-friendliest model on the market. ...the list goes on and on and on, so we do encourage you to call us if something goes wrong. 'little things' in action: I recently visited Mr Jones, to review his cover. I walked in to find him scooting around on a knee scooter as he had broken his foot which had resulted in some pretty hefty surgery. ACC had covered the operation and was paying 80% of his income. But I was still able to get him a $900 pay out for his public hospital cash grant and a 2-month payment from his Mortgage protection policy as it had no ACC offsets, of a further $4,228. You can imagine Mr Jones was very grateful for the visit and the extra $5,000 odd dollars to aid in his recovery and to help top up the 20% decrease in his normal wages while on ACC.