Although a very simple question, when I considered my response, I realised the answer was many things.

• Because I care ...
• Because I want to make a positive difference when people’s worlds turn upside down through unforeseen events ...
• Because I believe in insurance, and the financial outcomes it can provide …
• Because I know when policies are structured correctly, it is not just one person, one family or one business who reaps the benefits, but rather a community as a whole ...
• Because I want people to understand the insurance contracts that are available, and be able to make a choice on what is right for them ...
• And, Because I have experienced firsthand more than once, what a major illness event can do to a family.

My mum, who had been feeling unwell for quite some time, blacked out whilst driving and ended up in a ditch.

After some testing she was diagnosed with a benign brain tumour, the size of a tennis ball, growing from her skull and pressing onto the brain.

To remove the tumour successfully required the removal of part of her skull and for nine months my mum had to have her head bandaged and protected from any knocks whilst she waited for her second surgery to have a plate inserted.

In 1982 there were no trauma insurance covers that would pay out a lump sum for the diagnosis of her illness, and the financial impacts on our family started immediately.

My parents owned a Four Square store in Northland. Mum worked full time in the shop with some part-time staff and Dad primarily did the rural deliveries.

As the surgeries were performed in Auckland, the part-time staff were required to become full-time, and a van driver was needed to be employed to do the deliveries, so my Dad could stay with my Mum.

Although there was no significant impact in business revenue due to the staff taking on the extra duties, the costs of employing them had an effect on my parents’ personal income.

When it became apparent that Mum’s recovery time would be more than a year, and that she could no longer be actively involved in the business, the decision was made to sell.

Dad did not look for employment until after Mum’s second operation and there were a number of months where our family lived off the savings they had.

Although this happened whilst I was a teenager, the memories of this time are still vivid today. This is not an experience I would wish on anyone, and although an insurance contract does not take away what is happening, it can provide people with some level of financial security during a stressful time.