Trauma eased by insurance

"I wanted the insurance for peace of mind, not expecting we would have to use it," Ann-Marie Eason said.

Not only did they need it once, Ann-Marie and husband Lyndon had to make two claims.

Three years ago, Lyndon was a typical farmer running a dairy, beef cattle and a vineyard, sleeping four to five hours a night and living a lifestyle far from healthy.

He was constantly stressed and almost paid for it with his life.

"I had a couple of blood noses and lost coordination, then one night I slurred in my speech," he said.

"The next day, I came inside and said to my wife that I was feeling ordinary. Something made me go and google 'stroke' and I realised I had many of the symptoms.

"I went straight to hospital and spent the next five days there.

"I had ignored the warning signs and if I had delayed it any longer then who knows what would have happened."

Lyndon, 51, believes the cause of his stroke was 99 per cent stress and an unhealthy diet, and has set about changing his lifestyle.

"I had no energy when I came out of hospital and it took about 12 months to get back to normal," he said.

The farm took a hit after Lyndon's hospitalisation, which happened at one of the busiest times of the year.

Ann-Maree said it was the trauma insurance policy the Easons had taken out a few months earlier that enabled a smooth recuperation, and kept the business keep running.

"Lyndon had been dead against getting insurance and only agreed to taking two-thirds of the policy amount recommended to us," she said.

The decision was timely as they had to make a second claim after Lyndon had a serious motorbike accident in December last year which severed an artery and cut his tendons, muscles and nerves.

He said he was being a typical farmer and doing "two things at once" when the unfortunate happened.

"I rode my motorbike too close to a fence and the shovel holder grabbed at the wire and the wire scraped down my leg," he said.

"I managed to get back to the dairy. I didn't realise, but I was inches away from dying."

Ann-Maree raced for the phone while employee Craig applied pressure to Lyndon's leg, ultimately saving his life.

What followed were weeks of treatment at Burnside Hospital where Lyndon had to learn to walk again while the family pulled together to keep the farm going.

He has not fully recovered yet, with limited movement in his left foot which doctors have warned could result in a permanent disability.

After the accident, Ann-Maree had to travel back and forth to Adelaide from Penola to help Lyndon recover, a process which is ongoing.

"I wasn't able to keep on top of things like book work, but our daughter was a great support to me and when Lyndon had the stroke she came and milked day and night as well as doing her own job," she said.

"Both incidents have meant our son, who works on the farm, had to take on a management role and more responsibility as well as deal with not having his dad around.

"But knowing we could cover the cost of assistance and any losses suffered to the business really helped.

"I am covered as well and we got our son to sign up for trauma insurance while Lyndon was in hospital; we know the value of it all too well now."

Lyndon said before his stroke he thought he was bullet-proof.

"Now I know you never know what is around the corner," he said.

"If I had died, my family would have been financially sound but without insurance they might've had to sell a portion of the family farm.

"For the sake of a carton a week, you are looking after your family if anything happens, everybody should have life, trauma, disability and income protection insurance.

"The money doesn't stop the trauma but it helps you cope and is peace of mind."

Ann-Maree said it was important to get cover appropriate for your situation and consider policy terms such as reinstatement options.

"We have had really good financial advice and things would've been very different for us in these situations if we hadn't had the cover," she said.

"We will never give it up, we can't afford to."