Adjusting your insurance cover through super to help suit you and your needs

If you’re like many Australians, when it comes to your health insurance, utilities, or even your mobile plan, you tend to leave them in the ‘set and forget’ pile or ‘too hard’ basket.

With life insurance, it’s probably no different. You may already have some form of cover through your super; however the chances are you haven’t looked at the details too closely.

So what is life insurance through super?

Life insurance through super can offer financial support if you become sick or injured and unable to work; or help take care of your loved ones if you’re no longer around.

Depending on your super fund, your age and your account balance, you may have been automatically provided with a level of death cover, total and permanent disablement (TPD) cover and income protection (IP) when you joined.

And because life insurance through super is designed to provide cover for a large number of people it’s not going to be tailored to your individual needs.

Changing your cover to help suit your needs

There are a number of options available if you think you need to change your cover to better suit your needs, now and into the future.

You may be able to apply to your super fund for an increase (or decrease) to your level of cover or apply for IP cover, if it wasn’t included when you joined. You can also choose to cancel your cover if you decide it’s not right for you.

If you choose to increase your cover or make adjustments to other features, you may be asked to provide personal information about your health, lifestyle and occupation. And, depending on the information you provide in your application you may also need to get a health check.

OK, so what else might I need to consider?

When deciding on the level of cover that’s right for you, some things you might want to think about are the number of children or dependents you have, and any savings or debts. It may be worth taking time to consider how you (or your family) would be able to take care of the bills if your income stopped due to injury or illness, or if you were to pass away.

If you’re looking for further information, there are a range of tools and resources available, such as online calculators that can help you decide what level of cover might be suitable for your needs. A handy place to start might be ASIC’s MoneySmart website.

You can also contact your fund at any time to understand what cover you have to help you decide whether it’s right for you.

Important information: The information in this blog post is of a general nature only and does not take into account your individual needs, objectives or financial situation. Before making any decision about a life insurance product you should consider the relevant Product Disclosure Statement and seek professional advice before deciding whether it is suitable for you. This blog post has been prepared by TAL Life Limited ABN 70 050 109 450, AFSL 237848, an issuer of life insurance. Current as at February 4 2020. © 2020 TAL Life Limited.