Most superannuation funds contain a default level of life insurance, however often the cover provided is nowhere near enough and usually only covers death and TPD.
It’s important to consider what you and your family would require if something were to go wrong and to make sure you have the right cover in place. Check out our worksheet below to get estimations.
The insurances generally available are:
- Death or Life insurance – A lump sum payable on death or terminal illness. This can help support your dependants to maintain living standards or pay off debts.
- Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) – A lump sum to help support you if you are totally and permanently disabled due to illness or injury.
- Income protection or salary continuance – A monthly income stream to help support you if you are temporarily unable to work because of illness or injury.
- Trauma or critical illness insurance (only available outside of super) – A lump sum to help support you if you are diagnosed with a specified major medical condition (e.g. heart attack, stroke or cancer).
Insurance cover inside super is often less expensive than insurance outside, but the quality of the insurance cover provided can vary wildly. You can also arrange insurance cover for your spouse or partner within your super fund by arranging a spouse account.
Some employers provide salary continuance (also called income protection) in a company policy outside of the super fund. Please ask your employer or contact us to request a flyer on your company default fund and insurance cover. You can also apply for an increase or additional insurance cover yourself, email us for more information.
This is an area where it is really important to seek advice, to ensure you have appropriate cover at a good price, as there is no ‘one size fits all’ solution.
We can also assist you with other types of insurance cover that cannot be included within your super. For example, Trauma/Crisis cover may be of great value to a non-working spouse.
Insurance claims
If you are unable to work due to sickness or accident for a prolonged period of time, you should contact your super fund provider or contact us as quickly as possible.