If you are like me, you have likely grown up with the view that drug use was something both criminal and for others. Especially for those selling and pushing the drugs.

Moreover, for the ones producing and selling controlled substances, yes, throw the book at them. For the users, however, my view is changing.

Don't misunderstand me, I have had my fair share of it being used around me over the years, but it has never been my thing.

We are seeing more and more evidence that medicinal marijuana has a place in the management and treatment of chronic long-term conditions. That I agree with and it is one that needs both a closer look and a faster response.

Wellness is my theme for the first quarter.

So how did you go?

How did your new year's resolution to improve your life this year go?

I recently had some contact with a colleague looking for assistance with a friend who had a car accident while working but didn't have commercial vehicle insurance.

• You have a car.
• You use it mostly for private use.
• You have comprehensive car insurance.
• You are involved in a hobby or sideline to your normal occupation.

Now, many people take the approach she'll be right, because when they last read their policy document, as an 18-year-old with their first car, it either said incidental business use was covered, or it could be covered, you just needed to let them know.

Each year, 33% of deaths in New Zealand are caused by cardiovascular disease. Every 90 minutes, someone in the country dies from heart disease. Then we’ll top that off by saying that 172,000 people in New Zealand, or one in twenty adults, are living with heart disease (NZ Heart Foundation). If these statistics weren’t enough to encourage you to improve your heart health, how about this:

In New Zealand, the number one cause of death for both Maori and non-Maori New Zealanders is ischaemic heart disease.

As a male, your chances of dying from a heart attack or heart disease are enormous. Yet so many men fail to take some simple steps to help improve their heart health. So we’ve put together some easy tips for you to implement into your daily life.

Just when you thought you'd sorted out your business insurance, someone asks if you've got small business liability insurance. Well, thanks so much for that, not! Who would have thought that besides insuring your stock and your business premises that there were further policies to consider?

The thing is, when running a small business in New Zealand, you're exposing yourself, your employees and your clients or customers to risk. The level of that risk depends on the services or products you provide, but it's still there regardless. By keeping informed about the small business liability insurance cover available, we can make informed decisions for our businesses.

Hot subject and a very emotive one. As parents, we want to do the best for our children.

We want to keep them out of harm's way, and anything that threatens a child is liable to enrage the lioness in every mother and garners an emotional visceral and sometimes violent response, also in the fathers too.

Which is part of the challenge we have with the worldview of vaccines, a bit like the flat earth, Trump, and Jacinda having a baby, everyone has a strong view from one side or the other.

Are you one of the 57% of New Zealanders who have life insurance? If so, you already understand the importance of having it. But there’s 43% who may think life insurance is important, just not for them. Or that only old people or those with kids need it. But in reality, a life insurance policy is for everyone, including you!

Do I Need Life Insurance?

Here we are, 2018! Happy New Year!

One of the consistent things we have heard over the last few years is 'I cannot wait for this year to end; it has been the worst'.

Which is interesting as some of the people we have heard this from have said this every year for the last few years.

My question to you is; so what are you going to do differently?

Someone close to me recently attempted suicide. Here is the letter I wrote to them following this. And I’d like to write to you, and anyone who may be feeling low right now.

Hey, I know you're feeling crap on so many levels right now.

You're feeling like a failure; a burden on everyone, you're embarrassed, you feel like you've let everyone down, you feel worthless, frustrated, isolated, sad, alone, angry, and deflated, all at once.

Stress. We live with it and many of us can’t live without it. It has that canny ability to follow us wherever we go. Work, home or school, stress builds a kind of tower, adding one more bit on the top until it gets so high it falls over. Then when that happens, we start suffering the effects of poor physical and mental health. That’s often the time when we decide it’s time to de-stress.

Here I am 12 months down the track from Dreamworld killing 4 of its visitors and reflecting on the last 12 months.

Yes, I’m back on the Gold Coast, in a virtual rinse and repeat of last years holiday. Mr 2 3/4 is now Mr 3 3/4 and we’re here at much the same time to do much the same things.

We’re even staying in the same place, Ashmore Palms, nice, quiet, cabin based family holiday park. More in the style of a classy camping park than a Gold Coast high rise apartment. Suits us just fine.

Health and Safety at work; why are we involved?

In a word it's risk. Risk for employees, risk for self-employed and risk for businesses.

For many of our retail or domestic clients this only has a bearing with us if the are injured at work and have to progress a claim with an insurer and/or ACC.

For employees

Confronting title, the short answer is when you don't review it.

The longer answer is all about the claim and it's highlighted well in this article Insurance company refuses to cover auckland mum with rare illness 

I feel for the family involved, it's not the outcome, as an insurance adviser, we like to see. It's not the outcome as a policyholder or as a human being we want either.

How did this happen?

If you are full time self-employed and you have not restructured your ACC, you are a bloody numpty

Yes, I called you a numpty! There's a reason for this.

As a self-employed person when it comes to accident injuries you have to prove your income to get weekly compensation paid.

It turns out, doctors really are concerned with the type of poos you have. In fact, there’s even a poo classification system called the Bristol Stool Chart. That means, when it comes to your poo, you no longer need to make a guess at the types you have – you can point instead! The type of make a guess at the types you have – you can point instead! The type of poos you have are something you should pay attention to, as changes can point to several health conditions.