In this series of case studies, based on client testimonials from VouchedFor, FTAdviser speaks to advisers about particularly emotional or complicated financial planning cases to find out how they helped clients at difficult times in their lives.
Adviser name: Jeremy Coltman
Firm name: Jeremy Coltman Wealth Management
Firm size: 1
Client life stage: Young, with a daughter
The problem: The client had been a young mum when I first met her years ago. She and her then husband had wanted life insurance to cover the mortgage and I encouraged them to do critical illness cover and income protection. A couple of years later, the couple got divorced. She was worried about meeting costs at the time, and wanted to ditch the CI cover. I persuaded her to keep it. Then she got a brain tumour.
Coltman says: I will never forget getting an email from a client that I first met many years ago. Originally, I had helped her and her husband with a mortgage, income protection and critical illness cover. I later helped her through a divorce. Then she told me she had a brain tumour.
How did you react to this situation?
Obviously my first reaction on getting such an email is shock and sadness. But I had to move quickly and think about what I could do to save her the hassle of going through all the paperwork and chasing providers.
Immediately she wanted to know what she could do, and what she was covered for. I looked into her plans and the CI cover, spoke to the insurers and the CI cover paid out. The IP was set to pay out once she was no longer able to work.
She had been such a young mum when I first saw her. At the time they only wanted life insurance for the mortgage but I persuaded them to do CI.
Most people know they need some form of insurance and think about life cover, but you need to make people aware they are more likely to have a critical illness during the span of the mortgage plan.
It can be more expensive than other insurances, but I believe it is the most valuable.
A few years later, after she got divorced, she asked if I could help her with her finances. She wanted to stop the CI cover, and was paying about £80 a month into a personal pension at the time.
I said to her that she should make sure that she kept up the CI, especially as she had a daughter. A saving is a luxury; protection is a necessity.
As her financial situation improved, we spoke each year and I did some investments with her.
Then she started to get a lot of headaches. She was diagnosed with a brain tumour.
