A posting on LinkedIn got to the crux of this quite succinctly. If your business cannot run without you for 30 days, you do not have a business.  You have a J-O-B with a very expensive sign that has your name on it. When you can sit back and say ‘my business will work without me’, you probably have a strong business and a succession plan.

KPMG International’s 2014 Global Audit Committee Survey has highlighted some positive things about the management and structure of New Zealand companies, specifically around the role of CFO.

It has also highlighted issues with succession planning. When it comes to succession planning, New Zealand is doing just as poorly as the rest of the world.

It oft be said, ’All my insurance adviser does is turn up and sell me more insurance’. While this may be true, I hope it's for the right reasons, you have more risk. This is the point, your risks change.

What is surprising is how people set and forget their insurance, be it life or property insurance. A great example is a past colleague who had not reviewed his contents cover since university, $40,000 then might have been a great deal, now a successful business owner with teenage kids it barely covers what's in his lounge.

Policy anniversary letters, why does the premium always go up?

This is a common comment I hear from clients, that and 'It's got too expensive can you do some thing about it?' If you are a Willowgrove client you are likely to be getting your first or possibly your second anniversary letter from the insurance company, so this is relatively new for you, if you did not have insurance cover before we met.

The simple answer to the title is; you are a year older and age is part of how the insurance company assess risk. Bluntly put, being a year older the chance of you claiming has increased.

What is not always understood with the annual policy renewal is your cover level has probably increased too. In recent times the level of cover increases have been up as high 5% inflation, though the last couple of years have been a bit lower.

Insurance is one of those things people do not like paying for and often bundle it in with power, interest, rates, tax and bank fees. Something to address when we really have to until then, we will ignore it and just pay the bill.

Insurance is about covering a loss, well a potential loss. Because you need to take insurance before you have the loss in order for it to work. People comment ‘but it should cover X, because I know about X and that is what I want cover for’. If you know about X then the insurance company is unlikely to bet on X because it is likely to be a sure loss for them.

In general terms yes. There is a but in there though, and it is a big one.

When you applied for your policy, did you; tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth? If you did, you are probably ok and have nothing to worry about, if you are unsure read on.

In English law, and carried through to New Zealand law, is the basic principal of good faith and truth when talking about contracts.

Let us start with what is BMI?

BMI stands for Body Mass Index. It is a medical tool used by the medical profession to assess someone's approximate body fat.

• BMI is a function of a person's height and weight. Doctors often use this in conjunction with a person’s waist measurement to get a more accurate understanding of how healthy a person's weight is.

I am guessing you would not be too happy to have your financial adviser measure you for your insurance application, so insurance companies only use height and weight.

From time to time, I hear key staff from insurance companies speak at training and development sessions I attend. A recent one I heard from a key person in charge of operations. This person oversees both the underwriting (your application) and claims (where you get paid)

What was interesting to hear was the statement ‘Where there is adviser guidance with the application; the client generally has a better outcome at claim.’

Something which is often kicked around by financial advisers is private education, sort of meaning: if something happened to you, your kids would go/move to private education from public education.

Now this may be a wish you have but the practical reality is your kids have had a significant change with the loss or disability of a parent. Why would you inflict more change on them by pulling them away from their friends and stable routine to send them to private schooling? Sounds like a great way of scarring them for life at a vulnerable time.

One simple reason; your risk situation changes. Surprisingly so. I have found many situations where what was covered and covered reasonably well, is not only months later.

For example, a new client I was talking to had a cover that was only a few months old. The situation had changed quite quickly following a relationship break up, quite a bit of debt had been taken on as a result. The life cover taken was no longer sufficient to cover this and the repayment insurance they had, now has a significant shortfall.

Another client after reviewing their situation, a month later comes back. Oh yes, by the way, we have bought an investment property and effectively doubled our mortgage. Quite a change in risk there too.