Stuart and his wife are in the process of selling the family business, after a rapid decline in his  health and shock diagnosis of Lewy Body Disease in 2021.

A loving husband and father, and caring boss, Stuart has run  his own small business since migrating to Australia in the late 2000s.

However, his  condition has forced him  into an early retirement.

Lewy Body Disease is one of the most common types of progressive dementia after Alzheimer’s disease. It causes a decline in mental abilities, affecting a person’s thinking, movement and behaviour.

To accommodate Stuart’s changing lifestyle needs, significant renovations are being made to the family home including widening hallways and rooms to make it easier for him  to move around the house, expanding the master bedroom and bathroom, and converting the garage to a home gym to aid  rehabilitation.

These essential alterations have only been made possible due to the money he received from his insurance payout

In addition to life insurance, Stuart had trauma and total and permanent disability (TPD) insurance. Those policies paid lump sum benefits, enabling him  to stop work without having to worry about paying household bills and medical expenses. It has allowed him  and his family to focus on his health, renovate their home and, importantly, take their time to find  the right buyer for their business.

“Trying to sell a business in the middle of a pandemic

is stressful, especially because COVID-19  has impacted our business in the past couple of years but it is great knowing we don’t need to rush,” Stuart said.

“My wife and I can take our time and wait for the right price and terms because we’re covered. We have enough.”

After migrating to Australia and taking out a loan to buy a small business, the couple’s accountant recommended they see Curo Financial Services about their life insurance needs.

That meeting changed the trajectory of their lives.

Curo Financial Services assessed their circumstances and needs, recommended comprehensive life insurance including trauma and TPD cover, and explained the various products and options available.

It was clear that the young family was exposed to some serious risks, especially if something happened to Stuart, who was the main income earner. Still, the decision wasn’t easy.

At the time, money was tight and there wasn’t a lot  left over every month after the bills and mortgage was paid.

“We thought we could get by without it but then, if something did happen to us, we’d be in dire straits.

“We spent a lot  of time thinking about it and we decided it was worth the cost. Our kids were at school and if something were to happen to one of us, we wanted to know they’d be taken care of financially,” Stuart said.

“People think that life insurance is complicated but the way our adviser explained everything to us, it all made sense. If he didn’t take the time to explain everything carefully, diligently follow up and manage the process, we would’ve self-assessed and taken out minimal cover, probably only life insurance, and our lives would be very different now.”

Over the years, as their circumstances and needs changed, Stuart and his wife continued to meet regularly with Curo Financial Services to review their financial situation and insurances.

At an advice meeting in 2019, their adviser recommended Stuart and his wife increase their level of cover. Again, it wasn’t an easy decision. The couple thought long and hard about it, before acting on their adviser’s advice.

In hindsight, that meeting was fortuitous, as shortly after in August 2020 Stuart’s family started to notice a slight change in his behaviour and pushed him  to see his doctor.

His family light-heartedly suggested it was probably just a sign he was getting older, yet Stuart was only in his mid-50s.

At first, they didn’t think too much of it.

However, the doctor immediately noticed Stuart

was moving slower than usual and referred him to a neurologist. After months of doctors’ appointments and tests, Stuart was diagnosed with Lewy Body Syndrome.

“Our  adviser managed the entire process, which was invaluable because at the time, I just didn’t have the capacity to think about insurance forms. If it was left  to me, I’d still be trying to complete the application,” Stuart said.

“Instead, after my  diagnosis, I literally didn’t have to worry about the claim side of things. I knew we were going to be looked after. Ian, Justin, Behram and the team at Curo Financial Services are second to none. They are compassionate and empathetic. They genuinely care about us and we would not be in the position we’re in if it wasn’t for them.”

“Having an adviser is essential. If we didn’t receive professional advice, we would’ve remained underinsured and we wouldn’t have even known. We would be scrimping and scraping by right now with no buffer to think. Having adequate insurance protection has made an enormous difference to our lives.”

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