Drew Browne is interviewed by The Sydney Morning Herald
Drew Browne Director of Sapience Financial and Investment Services appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald Friday 01.02.2019 during the Back to School week, speaking about good financial behaviours to model for our kids and how we're all a role model for someone.
- Click here to see the original article.
=Article Transcript: Vital Financial Lessons Start Early
Vital Financial Lessons Start Early
589 words
---start---
Have you ever wondered why we’re hardwired to protect our most precious assets by insuring them – health care, home and contents, cars, and even holiday travel? So why is it that over two thirds of Australians continue to go to work and don’t have their own Income Protection Insurance in place to protect their ability to continue to be able to earn an income? Arguably this is our most valuable asset, according to Drew Browne, founder of Sapience Financial & Investment Services.
“Income Protection insurance is a financial safety net that can protect up to 75 per cent of a person’s income should they get sick or injured and cannot work,” he says. “After a flexible waiting period, an Income Protection policy could pay you until you either recover and return to work, or retire, which comes first. “Unlike an employer’s compulsory Workers Compensation insurance, its covers you 24 hours a day, seven days a week and can even index any long-term claim payments to keep pace with inflation. “The good news is for many people it can even insure your employers’ super contributions, and the cost of the policy paid from your super fund. “With all this good news, you’d think every income earning Australian would know about it.”
However, that wasn’t the case for Browne, whose fast-growing legal career was overtaken by a faster-growing throat tumour that cost him his health, his job and very nearly everything else. “We don’t stop to think about the long-term cost to ourselves and to our family if we lose our ability to earn,” he says. “And when you’re honest, the cost of the premiums for Income protection insurance are not the issue; the issue is you don’t think it will even happen to you.” Browne says he was fortunate - he was able to keep hold of his house. He “only” lost his career, his super and just about everything else.
A driven man, Browne made sure he would never risk his family’s situation in such a way again. Five years later, when he’d recovered, he was determined to ensure others didn’t have to suffer the indignity of being financially dependent like he did. He returned to education, earned a host of new skills and qualifications including an advanced diploma in financial services. In 1999, Browne then launched a business that was to become Sapience Financial & Investment Services, specialising in educating people about using Income Protection insurance as part of their financial safety net strategy.
This is a very personal mission for Browne to this day. “I know the carnage of not having a financial safety net and how you quickly slipped between the cracks when you have a long-term sickness or injury,” he says. “Nobody had ever taken the time to tell me about financial options and my parents certainly didn’t model that behaviour for me either. “Our kids learn about the financial world by the actions we model for them and the things we talk about. I believe it’s never too late to start being a better financial role model."
In 2017 Browne created a free downloadable eGuide for his clients called 31 Good Money Habits to Model for your Kids. The same year he received a Westpac Business of Tomorrow Award for Technology and Financial Advice to niche segments of the community.
Browne concludes: “My message today is: Learn from my mistakes – please.” The advice in this article is general in nature and readers should seek their own professional advice before making any financial decisions.
---end---
