Article
Increase your cover by up to $100k without a health assessment
Super and investments 101Date Posted: 30 August 2023
Most Australians don’t think twice before insuring assets like their home and car, but it’s equally important to think of yourself as an asset. Consider that the average wage earner would make over $3.7 million over their working life1. That’s worth protecting! It’s important to regularly review your insurance to ensure it still meets your needs. And if you’ve recently experienced a significant change in your life, you may want to reconsider your level of cover.
Increase your cover after a significant life event
Did you know you can apply to increase your insurance cover by up to $100,000 without having your health assessed, following a significant life event? This extra insurance cover will be added to your account as a fixed amount of Voluntary Insurance Cover2 (Death and Terminal Illness (DTI) and / or voluntary Total and Permanent Disablement (TPD) insurance). You can apply to do this up to three times over the life of your cover, but only once within any 12 month period, when:
- you get a new mortgage or increase your existing mortgage by at least $100,000
- you or your spouse have a baby or adopt a child
- you get married
- you have a dependent child starting high school
- you complete an undergraduate degree
- you become a carer
- you get divorced
- your spouse passes away.
Be mindful that if you increase your insurance, your insurance premiums will also increase.
Here’s how
You can apply to increase your DTI only or DTI and TPD insurance by up to $100,000, and must do this within 180 days of the life event (and provide evidence the event occurred)3. You can apply through your online account under the Manage my insurance menu item. You’ll be taken to our insurer's (TAL Life Limited) site where you can submit your application. If you prefer, you can also apply by submitting a form.
Insurance health check
Remember, insurance is not set and forget. As your circumstances change – such as a pay rise, a new house or a new baby in the family – take some time to review your cover and check that it still suits your needs. You can change things like:
- The amount of Voluntary Insurance Cover you have.
- Your smoking status (for Voluntary Insurance Cover only).
- Your salary (for Income Protection only). Over the course of your working life, your salary is likely to change. If you hold Income Protection with us and you don’t tell us your salary, we'll use a fortnightly sum insured of $2,600, including a superannuation contribution component, to calculate the cost of your insurance. It's important that you tell us your salary, so you don’t pay more for your insurance than you have to and you receive the correct benefit amount if you make a claim4.
- Your job classification. We won't give you a job classification until you tell us one and your job classification will show as ‘Undeclared’. It's important you tell us your job classification as soon as possible as it affects how much you pay for your insurance. If you don't tell us, you could pay more for your insurance than you have to.
Handy tip: You can see your current job classification through your online account or on your latest Annual Statement.
The waiting or benefit payment period on your Income Protection insurance.
You can also reduce your cover or apply for (additional) cover. Find out more about applying for insurance.
Turn to Mine
If you’re not sure if or how much cover you need, you can also talk to an adviser from Mine Super Financial Advice, who are here to help you make confident and informed financial decisions. Mine Super members are entitled to a complimentary initial consultation, but there are fees associated with providing personal financial advice. During your appointment your adviser will discuss the fees and how you’d like to proceed.
Meet the team or request an appointment with Mine Super Financial Advice.