Spend a few minutes with Brady Arblaster and you get a real feeling that he loves life and you also get a clear understanding that he really enjoys what he does. Enthusiasm abounds. It’s infectious.
Brady is a physiotherapist by profession, but many years ago he moved into insurance – in his words “protecting businesses and families from the risks in their lives”. Brady and his wife Paula have two children, one at Murrays Bay Primary and the other at Rangitoto College. The Arblasters all love the Big Chair Walk - i.e. Milford to Takapuna Beaches around the rocks - as well as boating around Rangitoto, Motuihe or Motutapu (Islands) and checking out the different parts of New Zealand. Brady is teaming up with Channel to provide a regular feature on Insurance. Aidan Bennett caught up with Brady during June for a chat so Channel readers know a bit more about him.
AIDAN BENNETT: Tell us about your background and how you made the transition from being a physio to insurance?
BRADY ARBLASTER: I grew up on the Shore, went through Westlake Boys and then AUT where I got my Physio degree. In 2004 I decided it was time for a change. Other than the insurance knowledge I had to learn, it wasn’t as different a career as you might suppose. Ultimately they are both about helping and looking after people.
AB: What drives you as an insurance adviser?
BA: Simply caring for people and wanting to make sure they have the right insurance in place for where they are in life. Knowing that I’ve helped my clients save their house, their business, their income, protect their family and their health when disaster strikes.
AB: What are the risks that are faced by families in general that you look to help them with?
BA: These haven’t changed over the years and primarily come from having debt and having kids. The loss of a parent and their ability to earn an income and/or care for dependent children has a catastrophic effect on a family’s emotional and financial wellbeing. With the right cover in place at least the financial stress can be removed.
AB: You also work a lot with business people/owners. What are the key risks they face that you help with?
BA: I think the majority of SME business owners really haven’t thought through what would happen if they suddenly didn’t turn up to work because of sickness, disability or death. If you have business debt, what are the implications for your family’s financial wellbeing if it can’t be repaid? If you have business partners, who ends up owning the business? And finally, what if it isn’t you, what happens if a different key person within the business is removed; can the business survive without them?
AB: You’ve had some personal experience with trauma. What did you learn through that process?
BA: My wife was diagnosed with breast cancer when our daughter was only 18 months old. Thankfully we had the right cover in place, she had surgery privately within five days of diagnosis, we could reduce our mortgage, and I could take a few weeks off work to look after her and our daughter. I hate to think how much worse it would have been without the right insurance in place and that experience influences me as I work through each of my client’s recommendations.
AB: The Brady Arblaster approach to insurance is a bit different than the stereotype approach I understand. What is that difference?
BA: For me it’s all about personalised advice, understanding exactly what their situation is and how they’d best be supported in a time of trauma. It’s a long-term relationship; I’m their adviser not a salesperson and that trust has to be built from the start. I’m going to be one of the first people they call when that difficult situation arises and they need help. I have been alongside my clients for 33 death, trauma and income/mortgage protection claims and I have seen insurance make a big difference in dark times, reduce worry and give opportunities to make a new kind of life.
When I first meet with people we establish what they believe their needs are, but I’ll add to that advice about consequences or opportunities they might not have considered. From this I create a plan with recommendations, we go through it together, and I leave it with them to think about and come back with any questions. Once we implement the cover I like to review this each year as their insurance needs will change over time as business, income, debt and family situation changes, and we’ll need to add and cut as appropriate.
AB: What is one key piece of advice you would give about insurance?
BA: Don’t underestimate the value of having personalised advice so you have the right cover when you need it and a trusted adviser who will be there to actively manage the claim for you. A good life insurance advisor can get you more appropriate and useful insurance than something you buy as a package without advice and tailoring. It will also likely end up costing you less.
AB: Your family has lived on the Shore forever I believe. You clearly love the place to have stayed yourself?
BA: I would not live anywhere else. My wife and I were both born on the Shore, have grown up here and we now live in Mairangi Bay with our two kids.
AB: What are your interests away from this passion for your career?
BA: I’m into fishing and boating and I try to make sure there’s always time for getting involved in the kids’ sports activities or helping out at their schools.
AB: Got a favourite happy place on the Shore?
BA: My pick of the Bays is Mairangi but give me any beach, a sunny day, family and friends and a BBQ and I’m in my happy place.
AB: What’s your favourite dining spot on the Shore at the moment?
BA: I can’t go past El Humero in Takapuna.
AB: After a challenging week of business I love nothing more than...
BA: ... wandering down to the beach with the kids searching for beach glass and soaking in the sunshine and sea air.
Contact: Brady Arblaster, 021 979 106, email brady@insurancedesign.nz or visit www.insurancedesign.nz
