It doesn't matter how bad things get; I know that my kids have their education covered

A business-minded couple, Veronica and her husband were passionate about securing their children's future. For both, a quality education was close to their hearts. Both self-funded their own university degrees. In fact, Veronica's passion for learning continues today as she pursues an honour's degree in psychology.

Following their studies, they worked together to establish their own businesses, consulting in both the construction and telecoms industries. They also got married and started a family together. Veronica and her husband were proactive people with a plan - they didn't just envisage a bright future, they planned and worked hard for it.

For a couple that planned and shared so much, including their 4-year-old twins, neither could have guessed how quickly things would change.

FOR VERONICA AND HER HUSBAND, IT MADE SENSE TO PROTECT THEIR FINANCIAL FUTURE WITH DISCOVERY AS IT PROVIDES BETTER BENEFITS AND MORE REWARDS.

"Our Medical Aid is with Discovery. We are Vitality members. Our car insurance is with Discovery. My husband even banked with Discovery Bank," says Veronica.

"It makes it easy for everything and we have our financial adviser to help us. Instead of having to deal with seven different brokers, my husband thought to rather have everything in one place. And with the benefits and rewards we get, it just made sense."

"We both also have our life insurance with Discovery. We've been Discovery Life clients since 2019. We have the Global Education Fund on that, the Severe Illness Benefit and income protection," she adds.

"WE BOTH GREW UP IN FAMILIES WHERE IT WAS DIFFICULT TO GO TO UNIVERSITY."

"For my husband, his mother was the breadwinner, and she sacrificed a lot for him to be able to get an education. So, knowing that struggle, we both understood that we did not want to put our kids through that. We are where we are because of our education. We understand how important it is to plan for the kids to be given the chance to get an education. Otherwise, they will struggle the same way we struggled. And that's not what we wanted. We knew better."

The couple's financial adviser, Sanjeev Jadoonandan brought up the subject of Discovery Life's Global Education Protector Benefit when he learned that they were seeking out options to save for their children's education. "We wanted to know what the best way was to actually invest in our kids' future," says Veronica.

Both were acutely aware that the cost of education changes over time. "What it costs now in 2022 won't be what it costs in 20 years' time. We knew that things change, markets change and the economy changes. We wanted to make sure that we never short-change the kids in terms of their education," she adds. "We wanted to change the narrative for our kids - we didn't want them to be in the same situation we were in all those years ago. That pushed us to make this decision quite early on. Sanjeev introduced us to the benefit and explained how the Global Education Protector works."

WITH COMPREHENSIVE COVER IN PLACE, THINGS SEEMED SECURE...

Then Veronica's husband suddenly fell ill. "My husband contracted COVID-19. I also got sick, experiencing headaches and a fever for about two days," Veronica shares. "My coughing lasted around 2 weeks, but it wasn't too bad."

Upon learning that he'd contracted COVID-19, Veronica's husband isolated at home for 4 days. Things changed on the 5th day. "He started coughing blood and asked me to take him to the hospital."

Initially, it seemed that his condition was picked up early enough for a full recovery. Yet, he worsened and developed pneumonia in the days that followed.

Two weeks later, he was still in hospital. "He had his phone, and we were still talking. But the pneumonia advanced so quickly. His oxygen levels dropped, and at that time, the only option was to put him on a ventilator." This was done to help him breathe.

Veronica was told that this would help him to recover. His coughing was so intense that it was causing his lungs significant damage. By putting him under sedation and on the ventilator, he had a better chance of recovering. "They put him on the ventilator, but he never came off of it."

IT WAS DURING THIS TIME "WHEN I REALISED THAT ALL THE RELATIONSHIPS WE CULTIVATE ARE FOR TIMES LIKE THAT."

Veronica's family took turns to be at her side, helping her with the household and the children. Her sisters and mother were there for her every need. "My stepmom came from Limpopo during the last week. My husband died while she was still with me."

SANJEEV WAS QUITE SUPPORTIVE AND EXPLAINED ALL OF THEIR COVER IN DETAIL

"My husband handled everything. There were many details I wasn't aware of, but Sanjeev made sure to mention everything to me - especially in case we needed to claim on one of the benefits, since my husband had been in hospital for a while. I didn't know much of what my husband had signed us up for. All I knew was that I kept all the paperwork together."

BY THE BEGINNING OF THE 2022 SCHOOL YEAR, THE KIDS' FEES WERE FULLY PAID FOR

"It was so quick. I thought that I would have to wait years for the Global Education Protector to pay out. I expected the benefit to only start paying out when the kids got to grade 1. I knew it was going to pay until tertiary stage but did not think it would also cover foundation phase," Veronica admits.

When her husband passed away in August 2021, the kids' school was closed. When the final term started, Veronica was in a state of shock. She was devastated. "I didn't want to do anything at that time. I didn't want to deal with paperwork. Sanjeev helped pre-populate the paperwork with the information he had on file, leaving out only the details he could not provide."

All Veronica had to do was cross-check, fill in the remaining details and sign. Discovery Life's team took care of the rest and ensured that the fees for the last term were paid. "Sanjeev and his team made sure to follow up and check that I was okay. They were very helpful."

"This year, the kids' school fees were paid for the whole year, even before the school opened. I heard directly from the school that it was paid up when they forwarded me the statement."

"MY KIDS EDUCATION WOULD HAVE BEEN THE ONLY THING THAT WORRIED ME."

Funding the kids' school fees was something Veronica and her husband did together. "I know exactly how much it costs, and the sacrifices we had to make in our day-to-day financial spending so that we can give them an education. Not being able to do that would have been the biggest stress for me now that my husband is not here."

"I actually tell people about this benefit. I have a friend who is also a Discovery client. She wasn't aware of it. I made her re-look things. Having it takes a load off. I don't worry because I know that the kids' education is taken care of until they turn 24. I'm at peace and at ease. It doesn't matter how bad things get going forward - and touch wood they don't. But if things do get bad, I still know that my kids have their education covered. That does give me a sense of peace."

"YOU KNOW, WE THINK WE'LL LIVE FOREVER BUT WE WON'T."

"If we, as parents, are not prepared, our kids suffer. It's up to us to make sure that their future is secured."

"Even if something was to happen to me, my kids' guardians would have nothing to worry about. Everything is taken care of. My kids can study anywhere they want. That gives me comfort - whatever they want, wherever they choose to go to school, it's covered."

"THIS UNFORTUNATE THING HAPPENED BUT THE COVER WAS THERE - THAT'S VERY HELPFUL."

"My overall claims experience with Discovery Life was effortless. It was smooth. It was so easy and so quick. There was no stress involved. I definitely felt supported by Sanjeev and his team during the claims process."

"Losing a loved one is not something you wish for or want to happen. But for us, it did. We are in a better place because of these products that my husband decided to sign up for - to protect the kids and I for the future. I am very grateful for that."