Superannuation & Investments

Paul Oliver has been our financial adviser for 8 years. We have been very happy with his advice during this time and when he moved to Diamond Blue we decided to follow him. Since then we have found that the opportunities for us to improve our financial situation are greater and give us more flexibility. We have recommended Paul to others and are happy to continue doing this.

-Heather and Peter

Insurance

"I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008 and again in 2013. Obviously I wasn't eligible for cover for the second diagnosis but the payment from the first has taken much financial strain off us and allowed me to spend time with our children while I go through continuing treatment. So I have often thought of you in the last seven years with much gratitude.

The insurance cover recommended to me by Michelle meant next to nothing at the time but a huge amount since being diagnosed. I am very grateful for her experience and advice. I was able to reduce my workload significantly to spend as much time as possible with our young children. It took financial pressure off my husband as he has enough to think about now. It allowed us to move interstate to be closer to my parents and restart our business in the new area. Cancer is a disease accelerated by stress so to be able to live free of financial stress is very important to us.

Many thanks"

-Harriette

Insurance

“As a family we have always tried to put necessary safety nets in place to ensure that in the event of illness or death our children will continue to be looked after, especially because we have lived and worked in a few different countries. At the same time we always felt sure that by focusing on our careers our future will be secure through the hard work and rewards that went with it.

However, disaster struck in 2013, 3 years after we relocated to Australia. My wife, who was the primary breadwinner in the family became ill and was unable to work due to severe depression and anxiety. After 3 weeks in hospital, it became clear that her return to work was unlikely in the short to medium term. This is where Diamond Blue Financial Services stepped in. Because of their advice in the past, my wife had cover for Income Protection, TPD, Trauma and Life. Being our first ever claim we were not sure what we could claim or that we even could make a claim at all. DBFS guided us through the entire process and within weeks, the Income Protection part of our cover kicked in. Their support during such a difficult time was incredible and helped us get through what was to become the most difficult time in our lives.

In 2014 (a year after first becoming ill, my wife was diagnosed with Cancer). Needless to say this was a huge blow. Again DBFS stepped in and held our hands through the Trauma claim, which was processed within a few weeks of the diagnosis. Without this safety net, we could not have survived financially because by that time I had to stay home to care for my wife and the family.

We are currently in the process of a TPD claim as my wife is unable to return to work. The customer service from DBFS through this is outstanding. Our questions are dealt with immediately and they help us navigate through the complexity of the claim process. They have also provided advice and support regarding our long term financial plans as well as our estate planning and Will (through a legal partner).

As great as the service from DBFS was, we have had a few painful lessons regarding our experiences with insurance. We had always mainly focused on life cover, as we never really imagined a scenario where both of us would be unable to work due to serious illness. If we could redo our cover, we would increase the Trauma and TPD components of the cover as this would have created a much safer option for us, given that we have no support structure in the Country.

We thank God for the support DBFS has given us through our crisis. Their integrity and honesty has helped us feel that they were always watching out for our best interests and we cannot imagine what we would have done without them. It is still difficult to believe that we are in this situation at all, but we are grateful that with the help of DBFS, we will be able to survive this crisis.”

-Noleen

Insurance

"Diamond Blue Financial Services (DBFS) has been nothing but professional in putting my wellbeing and financial position first. I am an active 21-year old who is an apprentice carpenter. I’ve had many injuries over the years in regards to sports and the team at DBFS thought it was a good idea to take out Income Protection insurance. I gladly took on their expert advice and started to pay the instalment premiums. In less than a year of my policy being in force, I had fractured my cheekbone in four places and had to have time off work. I was planned to go overseas quickly after my surgery and safe to say, without my income replacement, I would have not been able to make that trip to Europe. Safe to say the little fee per week which is taken out of my pay has paid more than dividends and gives me the peace of mind in case of the worst.

I haven’t only been looked after in this area, DBFS have also given me advice on a wide variety of financial questions in regards to my future. I really couldn’t stress how important this team has been to my business and personal life. Not to mention how friendly and easygoing they are too."

-Anonymous

Insurance

"From the time I started my family and my business I have had my life, trauma and income protection insurance managed by Diamond Blue Financial Services.  They have always provided great service and sound advice.  In 2009 I suffered an injury that prevented me from working for many months.  I immediately contacted Michelle who keenly assisted in ensuring that the income protection claim process was initiated.  This process was relatively straight forward with the team and DBFS assisting wherever they could.  The main factor that made the claim process easy was that I was advised to provide the full financials at the time of taking out the policy rather than waiting until there was a need to claim.  We even managed to negotiate a partial claim as I moved back to work part time.  The whole team has been very helpful and always a pleasure to deal with.  I still maintain all my insurances through DBFS as well as my super.  I have no hesitation in recommending this professional team."

 -Anonymous

Investment and Insurance

"Diamond Blue Financial Services handle all of my finances. From Super to Insurance to Tax. They even helped me with my home loan!!! DBFS answer all of my questions and keep me well informed. Most importantly I TRUST them!!! I'm a very happy client."

 -Mike

Insurance

"Diamond Blue Financial Services have been fantastic. I was recently diagnosed with Bowel Cancer and if not for them I don't know how we would have survived financially if we didn't have Trauma cover. A few times we spoke to Ben and Michelle about cancelling the cover but thanks to their great advice we kept it. Within weeks of sending in the claim, our money was in our bank. Thought it would be a long process before we got our cover paid - not so. I can't thank them enough. Our life would definitely be different if not for them. Thanks so much guys."

-Anonymous

SMSF

Particularly given the recent evidence at the current banking and financial services royal commission, we are fortunate in that our experience with Paul as our financial adviser could not be different, just some considerations being:

• An initial detailed Record of Advice from DBFS recommending a well-balanced portfolio reflecting our goals, objectives and agreed level of risk, an agreed cost to manage our SMSF and, unlike some other managers, the option to terminate the provision of such services without penalty, in itself a reflection of confidence that our SMSF would be nothing but well managed;
• Quarterly portfolio reviews;
• 24-hour online access to view the daily performance of our portfolio;
• Regular newsletters addressing world economic news, superannuation and tax law changes, and trends of interest in the financial sector;
• Regular telephone contact to discuss term deposit roll-overs, rebalancing of the portfolio when required, market opportunities such as share buy-backs or new financial products;
• Detailed written advice whenever a change to our portfolio is recommended, including detail as to any costs incurred, and always the opportunity to personally discuss such changes; and
• Perhaps most important of all, immediate contact during times of financial crisis, although simply due to the fact that we have a well-balanced portfolio designed specifically for such scenarios, Paul’s contact is usually more of an assurance that we should not follow the herd and simply sell at a loss, as markets always recover – advice that has proven correct in many instances in the past ten years.

In summary, the level and regularity of personal service, the efficient, honest and fair advice always given, and the fact that all advice is given in our (the client’s) best interest, gives us the greatest confidence that the management of our SMSF could not be in better hands.    

- Errol and Pamela