Ramesh, positive, energetic & living with a kidney transplant

He’s also an experienced software coder, a ‘Guncle’ to three nephews and a little princess who he's bought every available Disney princess dress on the market, and the best of partners to his boyfriend Ashish.

Working mostly from home (but always within reach of a laptop), Ramesh is one of the new breeds of ‘professional knowledge worker' who relies heavily upon his ability to sit at a keyboard, think and type code - all from a keyboard.

A health condition you don't want to inherit

As a teenager, Ramesh discovered he had inherited a rare genetic disorder called Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD) and in his late 20’s he received a successful kidney transplant from a sibling.

As part of his now healthy (and some would say overactive) lifestyle, he's become a keen cyclist later in life. He's part of a social cycle club that does regular long rides on weekends and he finds it helps him clear his head and unplug from his online work life.

What to do when you're ineligible to get comprehensive Income Protection insurance?

Ramesh’s income drives his lifestyle as does his love of cycling – and they are increasingly hard to separate as they really do support each other.

Both have simply become a key part of how he enjoys his life.

Because of the pre-existing Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD), Ramesh was ineligible to qualify for comprehensive Income Protection or Disability Insurance.

This meant not only did he personally carry the financial risks of his large mortgage repayments, but he also lived with the constant awareness he didn't have a financial backup plan in place, just in case he lost his ability to continue to earn his income.

The parts of life you can control

So he decided to take the next best insurance option available.

This meant:

• Protecting his income earning ability with - Accident Only Income Protection
  • This can pay up to 75% of his income (and 100% of his employer's Super contribution) while he recovers should an accident stop him from working.
• Protect himself from a long-term Disability with - Accident Only Total & Permanent Disability insurance.
• Protect his partner - with Accidental Death cover from the financial cost of having to continue to pay a large mortgage on a single income (and he even named his partner and his three nephews and niece as the life insurance policy beneficiaries - just in case).

The surprising part

He was able to pay most of his Accident Only insurance premiums tax effectively from his super fund automatically each year.

The parts of life you simply cannot control

During a recent cycle club group ride, a car ran a red light and collided with three of the lead bikes, violently knocking Ramesh off his bike and throwing him into the gravel road shoulder breaking both his wrists and three fingers.

There is a lot of rehabilitation ahead and doctors are not yet sure if he'll recover full use of his wrists and hands.

• It’s early days yet and Ramesh is undergoing hand and wrist rehabilitation.
• Many stressful questions about his future race through his mind daily - but financial security is not one of them.

His Accident Only Income Protection insurance is now paying 75% of his wage so he can still meet all his living expenses.

And if he does face the possibility of living with a long-term disability, Ramesh's Accident Only Total & Permanent Disability cover will pay him over $2,000,000 in a lump sum should he ultimately face living with a permanent disability as a result of this accident and unable to return to work in his own job.

Our future is unknown

Whatever the challenges Ramesh will face adjusting to a new life post-recovery, financial concerns are not one of them.