Insurance helps make sure you and your family are financially protected when life doesn’t go to plan, but it shouldn’t be something you set up once and forget about.
It’s a good idea to review your cover at least once every couple of years, but there are two other points where a quick check can give you peace of mind that you’re covered if things go wrong.
The first checkpoint is when there is any change to your pay. Income protection insurance is designed to replace at least 75% of your income if you’re temporarily unable to work because of illness or injury. Your cover is usually based on the salary you were earning when you first joined your fund.
So, if your pay has gone up and you haven’t updated your cover, you could be insured for less than you earn today. On the other hand, if your pay has gone down, you could be paying for more cover than you’re entitled to.
The good news is, if you tell your fund within 60 days of a pay increase, you can usually increase your cover without having to provide medical evidence – so if you got a pay increase on 1 July, you still have time! Vision Super members can find the form here.
The second checkpoint is when something big changes in your life. Things like getting married or moving in with a partner, having a baby or buying a house can mean you want more cover. On the other hand, if you finish paying off a mortgage or your kids have left the nest, you may feel you don’t need as much.
In insurance terms, these changes are called ‘key life events’. If you let your fund know within 90 days of any of these events in your life, you may be able to change your cover without completing a full health assessment:
- Buying a home and taking out a new mortgage (excludes re-financing or buying an investment property)
- Getting married or divorced, or starting or ending a de facto relationship
- Having or adopting a child
- Your partner passing away
- Your child starting primary or secondary school
- Becoming eligible for the Centrelink Carer Allowance for the first time.
If you’re a Vision Super member, the easiest way to change your insurance cover is to log in to your secure online account. Once you’ve logged in, select ‘Insurance’ from the main menu and then ‘Manage my insurance’. For more information about your cover and the main terms and conditions, please refer to the applicable Insurance Guide on our website.
Many people don’t realise that insurance is available through their super fund, or the benefits it can offer:
- Your premiums are paid from your super, so there’s no hit to your take-home pay.
- Because super funds buy insurance in bulk, they can often negotiate more competitive group rates, and you may pay less than you would for a similar policy on your own.
- If you want to offset the cost of your premiums, you can also choose to make extra super contributions, helping to reduce the impact on your retirement savings.
Most super funds offer insurance. The three main types of cover are:
- Death cover – provides a payment to your beneficiaries if you die.
- Total and permanent disability (TPD) cover – pays a lump sum if you become permanently unable to work because of an illness or injury.
- Income protection cover – provides regular payments to help replace some of your income if you’re temporarily unable to work because of illness or injury.
If you’re not sure whether you have insurance through your super, or what type of cover you have, contact your fund. They can explain what insurance is available to you, how much cover you have, what it costs, and the options for changing your cover.
If you’re not a Vision Super member but would like to learn more about the fund, you can contact us on 1300 300 820 or visit visionsuper.com.au/why-choose-vision-super.
