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Rangeeta and her husband Dileepa are both in their forties. Rangeeta is a highly paid Fonterra executive earning $170,000 per year. Dileepa works as a part time teacher in order to be at home with their two daughters aged 11 and 9. They live close to the city with a mortgage of $600,000 and on Rangeeta’s salary can comfortably afford all their living expenses. Life is good, they have achieved work life balance and a healthy savings fund. Rangeeta took out the Fonterra Welfare Fund benefits when she joined the company in 2006.
A fitness enthusiast, she maintained a regular routine of running in the mornings and pilates three evenings a week. Sadly while running around the lake one morning Rangeeta had an unexpected heart attack and was only found some time later. Rangeeta passed away in the ambulance on the way to hospital.
Dileepa is now a single parent struggling through his grief, the challenges of bringing up his daughters alone and the unexpected financial pressures as a result of losing Rangeeta’s salary.
In this case, the Fonterra Welfare Fund benefit that paid out three time’s Rangeeta’s salary to her family was valuable but not sufficient to cover the needs of her family. Having reduced the mortgage by a significant amount, the loss of Rangeeta’s monthly income is an ongoing challenge for Dileepa.
Rangeeta’s Life Insurance benefit with the Fonterra Welfare Fund would have been costing as little as $25 per month, leaving plenty of room to comfortably afford additional cover to fully protect her family and provide future security for Dileepa to stay at home with the girls.