Insurance

If you would like to discuss what income protection options are available for you, please reach out to the Sherlock Wealth team to discuss your unique situation here

Total and permanent disability (TPD) insurance

A permanent injury or illness can make it difficult or impossible to return work. TPD  insurance can provide a financial safety net to help support you and your family, and pay for medical and rehabilitation costs.

What TPD insurance covers

TPD insurance pays a lump sum if you become totally and permanently disabled because of illness or injury.

Each insurer has a different definition of what it means to be totally and permanently disabled. It can cover you for either:

• Your own occupation — you’re unable to work again in the job you were working in before your disability. This cover is more expensive and is usually only available outside super.
• Any occupation — you’re unable to ever work again in any job suited to your education, training or experience. This cover is cheaper but has a higher threshold to claim, so it’s less likely to payout.

Read the product disclosure statement (PDS) so you know how your insurer defines a total and permanent disability. Call the insurer or your super fund if you have questions about the policy.

Decide if you need TPD insurance

When deciding if you need TPD insurance, and how much, think about the expenses you’ll need to cover if you were permanently disabled and unable to work. These could include:

• living expenses for you and your family
• repaying debts such as a mortgage or credit card
• medical and rehabilitation costs
• savings you want for retirement

Also, think about what you have that could help pay for these costs. This could include:

• private health insurance that can help pay for medical expenses
• if you have trauma or income protection insurance, that can help replace lost income. You may hold these insurances through your super fund
• any savings or investment you could sell
• what support from family or friends may be available

The gap between the amount you have and the amount you’ll need can be a guide as to how much TPD cover you may need.

If you need help deciding if you need TPD insurance, and how much, speak to a financial adviser.

How to buy TPD insurance

Check if you already hold TPD insurance through your super. Most super funds offer default TPD cover that’s cheaper than buying it directly. You can increase your level of cover through your super fund if you need to.

You can also buy TPD insurance from:

• a financial adviser
• insurance broker
• an insurance company

TPD insurance can be bought on its own or packaged with life cover. If it’s packaged, your life cover may be reduced by any amount paid out on a TPD claim. Check the PDS or ask your insurer.

TPD insurance premiums

You can generally choose to pay for TPD insurance with either:

• stepped premiums — recalculated at each policy renewal, usually increasing each year based on the higher chance of a claim as you age
• level premiums — charge a higher premium at the start of the policy, but changes to cost aren’t based on your age so increases happen more slowly over time

Your choice of stepped or level premiums has a large impact on how much your premiums will cost now and in the future.

Compare TPD insurance policies

Before you buy TPD insurance, compare policies to make sure you get the right one for you. Check:

• if it covers ‘your own occupation’ or ‘any occupation’
• exclusions
• waiting periods before you can claim
• limits on cover
• premiums – now and in the future.

A cheaper policy may have more exclusions, or it may become more expensive in the future.

What you need to tell your insurer

You need to tell your insurer anything that could affect their decision to provide you with TPD insurance. You need to give them this information when you apply, renew or change your level of cover.

Insurers usually ask for information about your:

• age
• job
• medical history
• family history, such as a history of disease
• lifestyle (for example, if you’re a smoker)
• high-risk sports or hobbies (such as skydiving)

If an insurer doesn’t ask for your medical history, it may mean their policy has more exclusions or narrower policy definitions.

The information you provide will help the insurer to decide:

• if they should insure you
• how much your premiums will be
• terms and conditions for your policy

It is important that you answer the questions honestly. Providing misleading answers could lead an insurer to decline a claim you make.

Please reach out to the Sherlock Wealth team to discuss what insurance cover you may need here.

MoneySmart
(ASIC)

Income protection can be the financial safety net you need if you experience an accident or illness that means you can no longer work. A common misconception about income protection insurance is that it’s only for high-income earners, but this isn’t the case.

What is income protection insurance?

Income protection insurance is a source of income paid out to you if you are temporarily unable to work due to an illness or injury.

You can’t predict the future, but you can plan for it.

Nobody wants to consider an accident or illness impacting their health suddenly, but it’s always a possibility. As well as changing your lifestyle, an unexpected illness could mean you need to take an extended leave from work. In a 2020 report by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) on an average day, 100 Australians suffer from a stroke that could leave them permanently out of work. The AIHW also reports that accidental falls were the most common cause of injury deaths. It’s tempting to think that if you lead a healthy lifestyle and make smart choices, you’ll be fine. But the reality is you can’t predict the future, you can only plan for it.

Why life insurance and income protection are not the same.

Then there’s the trap of thinking life insurance is all you need. An unexpected death is absolutely a part of life we should all plan for. But an unforeseen total or partial disability due to injury or illness is a debilitating situation that can stop you from earning a living and is equally unwise to overlook.

Do I need income protection if it’s included in my super?

Most super funds offer income protection insurance for their members which can be a cheaper option. But cheaper premiums can come with a limited level of cover. Moneysmart by the Australian Securities & Investments Commission notes that “insurance premiums through super are deducted from your super balance which reduces your savings for retirement” so it’s important to consider if separate income protection cover is right for you and your family’s needs. For more information on whether life insurance through superannuation is enough, read here.

What does income protection cover?

So, how does income protection insurance cover you? Up to 75% of your monthly income is provided for a nominated period to help keep your household up and running and provide for your loved ones while you recover. In a nutshell, it gives you the freedom to rest easy knowing you’ll be taken care of financially.

An inability to keep up with the mortgage, loan or credit card repayments can cause considerable stress when you’re unwell. It’s crucial to focus on recuperation at such a time, with full confidence that these debts can be provided for under your policy.

Your income is fundamental to achieving your financial goals, so for financial security, you should be confident that you have adequate protection and plans in place. To discuss your financial plan, or to take out cover to protect you and your loved ones if something unexpected did occur, please reach out to the Sherlock Wealth team to discuss your unique situation here

Any advice is general in nature only and has been prepared without considering your needs, objectives or financial situation. Before acting on it you should consider its appropriateness for you, having regard to those factors.

At a time when many people have been focused on their family’s health and livelihood, having adequate life insurance has never been more important. Yet the gap between what we need and what we have has been growing.

Life insurance is all about ensuring your family can maintain their lifestyle if you were to die or become seriously ill. Even people who do have some level of protection might discover a significant shortfall if they had to depend on their current life insurance policies.

That’s because 70 per cent of Australians who have life insurance hold relatively low default levels of cover through superannuation.

Default cover may not be enough

The most common types of default life insurance cover in super are:

• Life cover (also called death cover) which pays a lump sum or income stream to your dependents if you die or have a terminal illness.
• Total and permanent disability (TPD) cover which pays you a benefit if you are disabled and unlikely to work again.

If you have basic default cover and are part of what is considered an “average” household with no children, then it’s likely you only have enough to meet about 65-70 per cent of your total needs. The figure is much lower for families with children. Indeed, a recent study by Rice Warner estimates that while current levels of insurance cover 92 per cent of death needs, they only account for a paltry 29 per cent of TPD needs.ⁱ

Such a shortfall means that you and/or your family would not be able to maintain your current lifestyle.

A fall in cover

The Rice Warner study found the amount people actually insured for death cover has fallen 17 per cent and 19 per cent for TPD in the two years from June 2018 to June 2020. This was driven by a drop in group insurance within super which has fallen 27 per cent for death cover and 29 per cent for TPD cover.

This was largely a result of the introduction of the Protecting Your Super legislation. If you are young or your super account is inactive then you may no longer have insurance cover automatically included in your super. You’ll now need to advise your fund should you require cover.

It may make sense not to have high levels of cover, or even insurance at all, when you are young with no dependents and few liabilities – no mortgage, no debt and maybe few commitments. But if you work in a high-risk occupation such as the mining or construction industries, or have dependents, then having no cover could prove costly.

Another reason for the fall in life insurance cover has been the advent of COVID-19. With many people looking for cost-cutting measures to help them through tough times, insurance is sometimes viewed as dispensable. But this could be false economy as this may be exactly the time when you need cover the most.

There is also the belief that life insurance is expensive which is certainly not the case should you ever need to make a claim.ⁱⁱ

An appropriate level of cover for you

It is estimated that an average 30-year-old needs $561,000 in death cover and $874,000 in TPD cover. As you and your family get older, your insurance needs diminish but they are still substantial. So a 50-year-old needs approximately $207,000 in death cover and $499,000 in TPD.

These figures are just for basic cover so may not meet your personal lifestyle. When working out an appropriate level of cover, you need to consider your mortgage, your utility bills, the children’s education, your daily living expenses, your car and your general lifestyle.

It’s also important to consider your stage of life. Clearly, the impact of lost income through death or incapacity is much greater when your mortgage is still high, your children are younger, and you haven’t had time to build up savings.

While having some life insurance may be better than nothing, having sufficient cover is the only way to fully protect your family. So why not call us to find out if your current life and TPD cover is enough for you and your family to continue to enjoy your standard of living come what may?

Now more than ever, in these uncertain times, you may find that you too are significantly underinsured and need to make changes. Are you ready to review your insurance needs? Reach out to the Sherlock Wealth team to discuss your unique situation here

i https://www.ricewarner.com/new-research-shows-a-larger-underinsurance-gap/
(All figures in this article are sourced from this Rice Warner report.)

ii https://www.acuitymag.com/finance/confusion-around-life-insurance-leaves-australians-vulnerable-nobleoak

Living through COVID-19 has brought many challenges and shifting priorities as we deal with the financial impacts of the pandemic, and that includes the issue of life insurance. 

On the one hand, the pandemic has highlighted the importance of life cover. On the other, those who may have lost a job or lost income are questioning its necessity.

Many Australians continue to view life insurance as a discretionary item. This is in stark contrast to the car or home insurance which are seen as necessities. It seems we are willing to insure our property but not the thing that matters most – our life and our ability to earn an income.

Conflicting priorities

A survey by KPMG found that only 35 per cent of Australians thought life insurance was essential and just 30 per cent believed they needed income protection. But when it comes to car insurance, 79 per cent viewed cover as essential and yet, during COVID-19, car usage reduced as many were working from home and restricting their movements.

As the COVID-19 health crisis has reinforced our vulnerability in terms of health and the fragility of life, the need for life and income protection insurance has probably never been greater.

What would happen if you became too sick to return to work or if you passed away? Who would pay the mortgage, living costs, health insurance and utility bills for you or the family you left behind? For those with outstanding debt and dependants, life insurance will always be an important consideration.

It should also be remembered that the current health crisis does not rule out people getting sick with other illnesses, some linked to COVID-19 and some not. Mental health is one of these health issues and is becoming increasingly prevalent.

Claims on the rise

In the June quarter, the life insurance industry reported a net after-tax loss of $179 million on its individual income protection products, driven largely by claims for mental health issues in the wake of COVID-19.ⁱ Mental health claims are expected to grow even further as it is thought most people take more than a year to report such issues.

With claims on the uptick, this has meant the insurance industry is either looking to increase premiums or already has. This, in turn, may discourage people from keeping their cover.

Indeed, the KPMG survey said that 38 per cent of policyholders were looking to cancel their income protection insurance in the next 12 months, and 25 per cent were planning to drop life cover.

On the plus side, many Australians have some level of life and income protection insurance in their super. However, if you were to lose your job, then paying premiums on your insurance in super would come out of your fund balance, reducing your retirement savings over time.

Also, your insurance might well cease when you lose your job unless you opt to take out a private policy. You generally have 60 days to take up this option.

Redundancy payments

If your income protection insurance is outside super, then be mindful that not all policies include redundancy claims. And those that do may have restrictions. For instance, there is usually a waiting period of up to 28 days before any payments will be made.

If you are thinking of taking out a policy now to cover you in case of redundancy given the current economic environment, then you will probably have to go through a six-month no-claim period before you can benefit. During that six-month period, there must be no indication from your employer that redundancy may be on the cards.

Many insurance companies recognise the financial and personal difficulties many people currently face and some have offered to reduce or even suspend premiums without any loss of continuity to your policy.

One alternative may be to look at reducing the cover you have so that your premiums reduce. But it’s important to be mindful of your needs and ensure you have adequate cover.

The road ahead

The insurance industry, like many others, is being forced to look at a different way of doing business in a post-COVID-19 world, with simpler policies and flat premiums all being discussed.

In the meantime, making quick decisions on whether you still need insurance or your current level of insurance, may prove a mistake. If you are thinking about altering your cover, give us a call first to discuss your insurance needs.

i https://www.fsc.org.au/news/income-protection