Real Stories: Joan didn’t know she had income protection insurance with her super fund.

Joan's story:

Joan was 45, a single mum to two teenage boys and had been working full time for a number of years when she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

“It was a huge shock and so scary. But it was detected early so the doctors thought I had a good chance of recovery," shared Joan.

She began her treatment and was told that she would most likely be off work for at least six months. She knew her sick leave would cover her for a short time but covering the cost of the rest of the leave was a concern. Joan felt she had no option but to use her credit cards to pay her day to day living and medical costs. The debts started growing so she increased her credit limit to ensure her family could eat.

Joan said, “I had to focus on getting better, but worrying about my finances was affecting my sleep and making me more anxious.

“One day, I decided to seek the help of a Financial Counsellor who suggested I may be entitled to income protection insurance as part of my superannuation – I hadn’t even thought about that! I phoned the company straight away and discovered I did have income protection insurance coverage.

"The payout was a bit less than the wages I lost but easily covered the bills I had run up on living expenses."

Knowing her finances were under control, was a huge relief which Joan believes helped her recover in a shorter time than expected.

Joan’s advice: “I say to everyone – check all your insurances, even the ones you don’t know about !”

Listen to the podcast, Rock Solid Benefits Of Your Super Fund to learn more.