Dr Neil Haughton
Darren has been my IFA for 25 years, advising on all manner of financial planning issues, however, in one particular area, Darren’s advice has proved invaluable. If it wasn’t for his enthusiasm in extolling the merits of covering my health in the event of serious illness, I don’t imagine I would ever have prioritised this insurance you never feel you would actually ever claim.
Over the years, Darren has periodically and diligently reviewed my insurance requirements, replacing or topping up my cover as my circumstances have changed and taking advantage of the latest products to suit my occupation as a medical practitioner; the last substantive review in 2016 resulted in an overhaul to reflect my personal and business financial requirements and his recommendation took advantage of the very latest insurance coverage.
Darren’s diligence when it comes to prioritising my personal and business financial protection really has paid off, as in January 2020 changes to my health meant that I had to make a claim against my critical illness cover.
We will all make adjustments to our lives following any serious health issues, but with the benefit of financial protection, my financial future is now more secure and the flexibility this affords me is hugely reassuring.
The services of an excellent and experienced IFA cannot be overstated and I convey my sincere thanks to Darren for his continued professional advice.
I would certainly recommend Darren to my peers; he is highly competent and very focused, particularly on matters of health and financial wellbeing.
Darren’s response to Dr Haughton
Neil has been a highly valued client of my firm for many years; no IFA ever likes to take a call from a client regarding their health, but knowing that we had provided Neil with a “belt and braces” approach to financial protection planning, I take great pride from being able to reassure clients at that moment, that at least from a financial perspective, the prospects are greatly improved, and this allowed Neil to focus on the most important issue, that of his health and wellbeing.
Preparation is a key attribute when taking out financial protection cover, advisers cannot predict the future, but we can help clients form a contingency plan to cover all bases should one die or become unable to work for a while.
The result of needing to make a claim can be devastating, both emotionally and financially – for clients and their loved ones. The problem is that you never really know whether the cover you have is enough for what you need it for, until after you have to make a claim.
This is one of the main reasons why it is vital to regularly sit down with an independent financial adviser – we can help to review your financial assets to ascertain what cover you need, be it one of the three key tenets (life insurance, income protection and critical illness) or a combination; no financial strategy is fully comprehensive without a contingency plan for when things go catastrophically wrong.
