How much more will your Super fund charge for insurances this year?
Did you know that most working Australians have life insurances paid for by their Superannuation?
For those 30 years old or over, chances are the insurance was compulsory when you started your first job and
you’ve been paying more and more every year since then.
Let’s find out what you’re paying for and whether it’s a fair price.
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See below answers to some commonly asked questions below.
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Click here to make an appointment for a complimentary Zoom review of your insurances.
What is Life Insurance?
A payment made to you or your family if you die, get severely injured and sometimes when you can’t work.
How much does life insurance cost?
That depends on who your superannuation or insurance is with. There are government reports that found the some superannuation charged people 4x more than what they should have been charged. That’s a rip off and worth seeing if you’re getting a fair deal.
Why do insurance policy prices
go up each year?
The cost of life insurance is proportionate to how likely we are to claim. Statistically speaking, the chances of an 80 year old dying are much higher than an 18 year old dying. The cost of life insurance reflects the chances of the policy being claimed on. As we get older, the chances of us claiming on these insurance goes up.
Why should I take action?
Without income protection you are putting your financial future at risk for not just you, but also your family.
No matter what changes come through the insurance industry, it is best to consider income protection insurance before it’s too late and you find yourself in a situation where you need it.
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These are the most sweeping changes we have seen in the income protection marketplace. They are aimed at making income protection a more long-term viable product for insurance companies to sell, but it means they will be less attractive products for consumers than the current ones.
When should I take action?
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The sooner the better, especially if you’re paying too much.
Like a car insurance policy, if you sell the car, you can get a refund on the remainder of the car insurance policy. When you cancel your life insurance policy you can normally get a refund on the part of the year you cancelled the cover for. Which is why it’s best to find out whether you’ve got a good value policy or not.
Can I get a better price for my insurances?
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We can get a better price for 4 out of 5 Australians.
We recommend that anyone wanting to check what cover they have, or are considering putting competitive life insurances in place, act sooner rather than later.​
What is income protection?
Income protection or salary continuance is a type of insurance policy that will replace your income for a period of time, often up to age 65, at a benefit somewhere around 75% of your pre-disability income.
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The key benefits include:
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Protecting your most valuable asset; your ability to earn an income.
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enefits if you are injured and unable to work for short periods and providing upfront payments for injuries such as broken bones or if you are diagnosed with a disease or cancer.
How does income protection work?
Like health insurance, income protection policies have a waiting period and a payment period. The waiting period is the time you must wait from when you make a valid claim, to the time you become eligible to start receiving payments.
The payment period is the period you can be paid so long as you remain unable to work. Other terms and conditions apply depending on the policy. All of these factors affect the level of premiums you pay.
What is Superannuation?
Superannuation is a government policy designed to encourage people to accumulate savings for their financial freedom during retirement and rely less on the age pension.
Employers must contribute a minimum of 10.5% of an eligible employee’s earnings to a Superannuation fund. This retirement savings account can’t be accessed until you reach your ‘preservation’ or retirement age.
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Superannuation accounts often provide default group life insurance cover.
What are group insurance policies?
Group policies bundle your policy in with a large group of other people’s polices - they are commonly used by Super funds.
A single contract covers the entire group of people and the insurer makes certain assumptions about the condition of that group of people as a whole. For example, their health condition, such as smoker or non-smoker and their level of occupational risk, such as desk worker or underground miner.
It’s vital that members are categorised correctly when allocated these insurances and more often than not, they aren’t.
Why are group policies expensive and less preferable?
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This type of cover is often poorly explained to members and poorly designed, based on inaccurate member statistics.
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To cover themselves, insurers assume the worst from the group, ie/ smoking habits and general health.
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Members are often being placed, by default, into an occupational category that doesn’t match their actual occupation and can end up being classified as being at higher risk than they actually are – and end up paying almost double more for their insurance premiums.
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Terms and Conditions can be changed at any time upon agreement between the trustee and the insurer and applied not just to new, but existing policy holders.
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Group policies usually have restrictive definitions and are less comprehensive overall, with lower maximum sums insured.