EBS Newsletter Q1 2015

EBS Helpline: 0800 268 3763 Email: ebs@crombie.co.nz www.ebs.org.nz

Newsletter February 2015

Welcome to our first newsletter for 2015, we hope that you’ve all been able to enjoy the fabulous summer weather and are now excited about the challenges of the new education year.

Have a read through your newsletter below to get a better understanding of the great benefits you have available through EBS via your union membership.

Check out our website: http://ebs.org.nz/

EBS helping people like you

A reminder from the team at EBS Don’t forget to put in your Standard Plan claims!

Last year one of your fellow education staff members was told by her doctor that she had a brain tumour. Any news like this is very sobering, however as you will see from her Christmas card to her EBS adviser, she strongly believes in the value of the benefits and service that EBS provides to its members.

This is just a note to say a very heartfelt ‘thank you’ for all the wonderful support you have given me during my recent medical ordeal. It is 8 weeks today since my operation and I truly feel blessed that I have come through so well.

Thanks to my excellent (EBS) health insurance, all the bills have been paid and I have the best of care, both medically and via my family and friends.

You can claim as often as you like, as soon as you have accrued $10 or more of eligible expenses – this way you will be sure to get the greatest value from your subscription payments!

Did you know?

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I really want to emphasise to you that the support you gave me at the start was so reassuring that it gave me the confidence to head into my battle with a lot of positivity.

On a different note, the team at EBS received the following thank you note they would like to share: “I have no idea how to/who to express my thanks for EBS service over some 30 years. I think I joined around 1976/77. All my children have the most beautiful smiles, thanks to EBS orthodontic care  EBS provides marvellous service with helpful and friendly staff whenever they are needed.”

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The EBS Standard Plan is free for Trainee Teachers if they are members of their union? You can have this valuable protection at no cost while you are training – so why wouldn’t you?

If you have an EBS Hospital Plan (arranged through an EBS Financial Adviser), the excess on a surgical claim (excluding oral surgery) may be refunded by EBS up to 50% of the total procedure cost to a maximum of $500 per calendar year, providing you also have the EBS Standard Plan.

If you are retiring, you can still retain your Standard Plan for on-going claims, by contacting your union and changing to an honorary membership Your Standard Plan can provide reimbursement for some routine screening such as Mammograms & Colonoscopies

Disclaimer: The information and opinions contained in this newsletter are of a general nature and may not be relevant to your situation

5 Good Reasons to Choose an EBS Financial Adviser 

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This is an ‘advice’ based service which focuses on the personal needs of you and your family Our advisers are local and can come to your school or home We offer a wide variety of life, health & disability insurance solutions and are not restricted to any one company or product Your Adviser will be able to help you in the event you need to make a claim Your Hospital Plan Excess may be reimbursed by EBS if you have arranged this policy through an EBS Financial Adviser in conjunction with your Standard Plan

Call 0800 268 3763 to talk to an EBS Financial Adviser now!

Although the data below comes from the UK, the leading causes for death in 2013 makes interesting reading.

Dementia and Alzheimer's Coronary heart disease Stroke Flu and pneumonia

Men Number Rank Causes of of deaths death 31,850

1

26,075

2

20,706

3

15,361

4

Coronary heart disease Lung cancer Dementia and Alzheimer's

Number of deaths 37,797 16,818 15,262

Chronic lower respiratory

14,927

5

15,021

Lung cancer

13,619

6

Breast cancer

10,144

7

Colon cancer

6,569

8

Stroke

14,058

diseases

Urinary infections Heart failure

Call the EBS adviser team now on 0800 268 3763 to find out how to protect your family.

Meet the Team at EBS We think that it is important for you to know who you are dealing with, so over the next few issues of the newsletter we will introduce you to the team who work hard for you behind the scenes at EBS. The EBS Board is made up of members from each of the main education unions and an independent board member, who has recently been voted in as the Chair.

Ross Wilson was voted on as a member of the EBS Board and subsequently Chair in late 2014. Formerly the president of the NZ Council of Trade Unions, Ross has also previously held the position of both the Chair and Deputy Chair of ACC. He is a lawyer with a strong interest in employment and workplace health & safety law and practice. Ross brings an independent perspective to the Board.

diseases

Chronic lower respiratory

The great news is that with improved care people are more likely to survive heart attacks, cancers and other previously deadly medical events. But what about the financial impact of medical costs and time off work?

Ross Wilson - Chair Margaret Kinsey - Deputy Chair (PPTA) Darrell Ward (NZEI) Marian Cadman (TEU) Richard Kittlety (PSA - on behalf of education sector workers)

Leading causes of death

Women Cause of death

Cancer is the leading killer in the previous table when all subtypes of cancer are combined across both genders.

Nearly one in three deaths in 2013 was from some form of cancer.

5,457

9

5,012

10

Flu and pneumonia Prostate cancer Colon cancer Lymphatic cancers Liver disease

11,426 9,726 7,669 6,311

Russell Foley has been the General Manager at EBS since 2001. After growing up in Zimbabwe, Russell moved to New Zealand in 1987, settling in Wellington in 1996. In previous roles Russell has managed teams of insurance agents in Hamilton, Gisborne, Napier and Hastings. He has also been responsible for running the Police Health Plan for a number of years.

Russell is married with three young adult children.

4,661

Total:

Total:

261,205

245,585

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/dcp171778_381807.pdf Article continued top of next column

To find out more on any of the benefits available to you as a union member, please call the EBS Helpline on 0800 268 3763. You can also go check the website www.ebs.org.nz or email ebs@crombie.co.nz