With more than 18 years’ experience as a mortgage broker in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs, my goal is to make the next step of my client’s property journey as smooth as it can possibly be.

Many of my clients are new or growing families - and it’s especially with these clients that the my experience and expertise goes beyond the technical elements of a home loan. When children are involved I’m increasingly encouraging my clients to thinking about financial planning for their future.

I say increasingly because as my own family has grown over the last few years I have come to appreciate just how important is is to plan for the future. Part of this involves insuring myself and my income - to protect against unforeseen consequences that could have far reaching impacts on the financial stability and wellbeing of my family.

Here I’m sharing a bit of my own story and experience, hopeful that it may encourage fellow parents to bring financial planning closer to the top of their to-do list.

My story

I now have three children - aged 7 and 5 years and 2 months. My eldest has a rare genetic condition and so from the moment of becoming a parent I was acutely aware of the need to plan for my family’s future. As a financial planner myself I knew the peace of mind that could come from having the right insurances in place.

So when we purchased our home I immediately organised life insurance to cover the home loan - without it, if either my wife or I died, the other couldn't afford the loan on their own and the impacts on the children would be unthinkable. Income protection insurance quickly followed - as I realised that any manner of life events could materialise and remove my ability to be the main breadwinner. Should that happen, and thinking of my children, I couldn’t risk losing our home.

My experience

When a client who is a parent asks me “What are the top types of insurance I should consider taking out and why?” here is my response:

●Life insurance - for both parents to protect your assets. 

●Income protection - to replace your income in the event you are not able to work.

●Disability/critical illness insurance - to cover medical bills and/or debts in the event of a major illness/accident.

When evaluating the costs of such insurances against the benefits I encourage my clients to think about worst case scenarios - and how different their situation could be with appropriate insurance cover in place. For example one of my former clients was diagnosed with cancer and with no critical illness insurance in place the family experienced a huge amount of emotional stress and financial strain. On the flip side I recall another client who did take out income protection insurance and then following a diagnosis that prevented normal working patterns they were financial covered by insurance. This removed the financial strain of the unforeseen life event and enabled the client to focus purely on their recovery.

It’s worth it
Protecting against future life events may feel extremely precautionary but it’s a precaution I encourage all parents to seriously consider. Having children in the mix significantly heightens the financial strain and emotional turmoil when things don’t unfold according to plan. With the right insurances in place you can have peace of mind that you’ve taken sensible steps to safeguard the financial stability and wellbeing of your family.