Financial Hardship

Are you experiencing financial hardship?

We understand that sometimes unexpected changes can disrupt life as you know it and put a financial strain on you and your loved ones. That’s why TAL has a financial hardship policy for all of our customers.

We are here to assist you through financial challenges as best we can so you can have some relief while maintaining your life insurance policy.

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What is financial hardship?

Unplanned events can happen that leave you in a financial position that you didn’t expect. These events may include:

  • injury or illness
  • unexpected changes in income or expenditure
  • a relationship breakdown or death in the family
  • a natural disaster such as floods, fires etc. or

  • situations of domestic and family violence.

It is important to be able to maintain your financial protections like life insurance despite financial struggles. We have some options to help you keep you and your loved ones covered.

How TAL can support you if you can’t pay your premiums

If you want to keep your insurance cover but are having difficulty making premium payments, get in touch with our Customer Service team on 1300 209 088. They can talk you through the options available to make your insurance more affordable.

We may be able to help with:

  • accessing features of your cover that may assist with affordability
  • assisting you to make changes to your policy and/or change to a different type of policy and/or
  • discussing your payment options to reduce your premium.

Or, you may wish to speak with your financial adviser. You may also need to provide supporting documentation to assist with your hardship application.

Grace period when you miss a premium payment

At TAL, all policies come with a grace period or period of extended cover when customers miss a premium payment. Generally, your insurance cover continues for at least 30 days if you miss a premium payment, depending on your individual policy.

Please note that in some circumstances, some of these options may not be available to all customers, particularly if your individual insurance policy is funded through your superannuation fund.

How TAL can support you when you are on claim

We understand making a claim can be stressful. Our claims managers are here to support and work with you to find a solution in:

  • understanding what is required of you 
  • completing claim forms and
  • providing requested claim information.

This may include offering to collect the information on your behalf, with your permission, to help expedite the process.

If you urgently need the benefits due to a condition that your policy covers, we will assess your request for urgent access to your benefits. We may ask you for evidence of this urgent need.

What happens next?

We will aim to prioritise your claim for an illness or injury your policy covers. We will let you know what help we can offer you as soon as possible or within 5 business days of receiving all the information we need. 

If we accept your request, we will confirm any help we offer in writing, which might include:

  • prioritising your claim assessment and our decision and/or
  • advancing part of your claim payment.

If you disagree with the outcome or are dissatisfied with how your claim was assessed, you can lodge a complaint. 

If you have cover under a group policy as part of your superannuation, we will let you know who you can contact about any urgent need for benefits. We encourage you to contact us as soon as possible to assist you with any concerns you may have regarding making a claim.

Resources for more information

If you're facing financial hardship, it’s important that you get the help and support you need. In addition to speaking with us, these organisations may be able to provide you with further assistance. 

National Debt Helpline is a not-for-profit service that offers free, independent and confidential financial counselling services to help people tackle their debt problems.

Lifeline provides 24-hour crisis support and suicide prevention. Call 13 11 14.

Beyond Blue provides support programs to address issues related to depression, suicide, anxiety disorders and other related mental illnesses.

MoneySmart created by ASIC, helps you take steps to improve your personal finances with impartial guidance and online tools.

1800RESPECT is available for free, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to support people impacted by domestic, family or sexual violence. Call 1800 737 732.

13YARN provides 24/7 crisis support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.

Life Insurance Code of Practice

Life Insurance Code of Practice Subscriber

We're proud to have adopted the Life Insurance Code of Practice (the Code) and to have played a leading role in its creation. The Code is the life insurance industry’s commitment to mandatory customer service standards and it’s designed to protect you. You can read the Code of Practice or find out more about it on the Council of Australian Life Insurers (CALI) website.

This standard does not apply to policies owned by a superannuation fund trustee as access to superannuation benefits is limited by law. However, you should contact the trustee directly as they may have other means of assisting you with financial hardship.

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2024 © TAL Services Limited a Dai-ichi Life Group Company.

"TAL is Australia's leading life insurer" based on Inforce premiums for risk only life insurance policies, NMG Consulting (2023).

Any financial product advice is general in nature only and does not take into account any person’s objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on it, the appropriateness of the advice for any person should be considered, having regard to those factors. Persons deciding whether to acquire or continue to hold life insurance issued by TAL should consider the relevant Product Disclosure Statement (PDS). The Target Market Determination (TMD) for the product (where applicable) is also available. Life insurance issued by TAL Life Limited ABN 70 050 109 450 AFSL 237848.