At first, Beverley Noordeweir thought that her husband was simply being lazy. She and Richard had just sold the family home, but when it came to packing up the house, Richard kept taking breaks and dozing off. Then one day he collapsed – and Beverley feared something far more serious. Sure enough, a visit to the hospital revealed some disturbing news: Richard had bowel cancer.
“That was certainly a shock,” admits Beverley, her voice raw with emotion. But once the news of Richard’s diagnosis had set in, the couple shifted their focus to ensuring that their other affairs were in order. The first step was contacting their super fund to see what kind of relief they might be eligible for through their Income Protection with AIA Australia.
As it turned out, the support Richard and Beverley received went beyond their expectations. “(Having cover with) AIA Australia just takes all the stress out,” says Richard. “They didn’t look for excuses, they just said ‘Yep, no trouble at all. You’re insured for that so that’s what we’re paying.’”
A few months on from Richard’s surgery and the Noordeweirs were almost back to living the kind of life they’d enjoyed pre-diagnosis. Life, however, had other plans.
“I woke up one morning with no feeling in my hands,” Richard recalls. “It was as if I’d slept on my arms crooked.” Worryingly, the numbness didn’t go away – and a nerve conductivity test soon showed that the nerves in Richard’s arms weren’t transmitting properly.
While losing the sense of touch in your hands is frightening enough, as a professional electrician – and the couple’s sole income earner at the time – the implications for Richard and Beverley were even greater. Again, they got in touch with AIA Australia, this time to submit a claim on their Total and Permanent Disablement (TPD).
As part of Richard’s TPD cover, the AIA Australia Rehabilitation Team is now working with Richard to find other kinds of work he might be interested in pursuing. Recovery can be a long road; having a goal to work towards can make it much more manageable.
For Beverley meanwhile, the value of her and Richard’s cover with AIA Australia was in having that sense of security: “Worrying about Richard was enough,” she says. “It was just having that peace of mind to know that there was money coming in to fund the household and pay general bills… I’m just very grateful.”
Click on the video below to get the full story of Richard and Beverley’s claims experience with AIA Australia.
