My name is Tracy, and I live in Bedfordshire with my husband Steve and our son Samuel.
My first real job was working for Commercial Union Insurance. I started in their filing department and worked my way up. I was there for 11 years before I gave up working to care for my nan.
Within a year of my nan passing away our son Samuel was born with a rare medical condition which meant I had to give up working again to look after him. Then my husband’s employer decided to reduce all employees’ wages by 40% which was a double whammy for our household finances. He couldn’t move jobs however, as they did give him flexibility to attend Samuel’s appointments.
We needed to find a deposit for a wheelchair accessible vehicle to get Samuel to his many hospital/physiotherapy appointments, and sometimes school. This was a large amount of money, and we couldn’t find a charity that would help.
In desperation we phoned a children’s disability helpline, and they asked what our jobs were or had been. When I mentioned my time in the insurance industry, they recommended The Insurance Charity and gave me their number. I very tentatively made the call, and a lovely lady said they would need to assess us and the help we needed, but it was likely they could help us. After having a quick chat with a representative they sent to visit us, they agreed to fund all the deposit for the vehicle. We were so relieved and grateful.
Sometime later they contacted us and asked how we were getting on. To be honest we were struggling with our caring roles, lack of sleep, finances and coping generally, so I explained where we currently were with everything. The Charity once again stepped in and asked us how they could support us and offered us some possible solutions that could help. There were so many ways they supported us through that time until we were able to get ourselves back on our feet. They kept us all safe. As I said to them at the time and now, “You are a light in a dark world, and you really don’t know what you do.”
We currently still care for Samuel, but he has reached 20 – which is a huge feat! I am a mum but also have a paid role caring for him now he is an adult. We have managed to get ourselves back on track and I’m happy to say that we are in a really great place. But if it hadn’t been for The Insurance Charity, I don’t know what would have happened.
I would urge anyone who needs help to contact the Charity. I look back and realise how low and despondent we had become. The Insurance Charity never judged us on our circumstances and showed us nothing but kindness, support and understanding. If they can help you, they will, and it costs nothing to ask.
Anyone with history within the insurance industry should call them if they find themselves in need. The range of support they can offer is vast and, in our case, was lifesaving. If you need more proof, you can see from their website stories from others they have helped. I hope you never need them but if you do, they are there. Thank you so much everyone at The Insurance Charity for being the amazing organisation you are.
*Stock imagery used