Life insurance etc, etc

[HEAPS GOOD !!!]

Has anyone got any good quotes or deals or contacts on life insurance and all the other stuff to make sure your looved ones are ok should the worst happen?

[duncan-clan]

i need to get some life insurance as i do skydiving..but ive heard the post office do it for whole family

alex

[lorluc]

Check your super funds.....Bet you will find that you already have life insurance.....might not be enough...so all you have to do is to apply for it to be increased.

Premiums are paid directly from the super contributions...so you dont notice it at all coming out of your weekly/monthly pay etc...

[andy and lindsey]

Hi we found that we got better cover when it wasn't superannuation linked - we have life cover and income protection, sorted by Andrew Williams (PIA memeber) very competitive price. We have just done our tax returns and we were able to claim a tax rebate on the tax paid within the income protection. Can highly recomend Andrew - very thorough! Good guy, drop him a line or give him a call :)
Lindsey

[KP Nuts]

I need to look into this in the next few months, and will be getting in contact with Andy Williams from here, great and very useful guy.

[soggy]

I have my life insurance arranged with in my super, I am self employed and am not using my super to save for my old age as I expect to do better with my money ( I hope ) but using my super for insurance means I can still get the goverment contribution for super funds, effectively this means the governmet pays for my insurance, I can't get the money back untill I retire but still good, anyone who is self employed and not paying into a superfund for any reason and wants life insurance may want to look at this. your income ect effects how much you may get from government but worth alook.:)

Simon

[Tyke]

Ya might need it going out with me or Andy.!!!

Seriosl I'll ask a very good and trusted friend in this sector who is best.:)

[Andrew Williams]

Thanks Andy & Lindsey and Kim.

Yes you can get life insurance inside or outside your Super, to be honest the cost is pretty similiar if it is just life insurance you want.

Just be aware that if you are taking in in your Super, unless it is a retail policy linked to the Super then it is probably a group policy.

Generally this cover is not guaranteed renewable and really should just be treated similarly to Death in Serice benefit in the UK. What this means is that, this cover could cease without any control by you.

For example if you leave your employer it may only continue for a further 13 months after the last employer payment. If you then want to apply for life cover and you have had a medical issue within that time you may find that the policy will be heavily loaded (premium increased) or an exclusion is built in.

If you want to have it for a definite period of time I would recommend a retail policy, generally these policies are much more comprehensive. Retail policies can be linked to Superannuation as well in some cases.

If it is linked to the Superannuation, what Simon says about using the Government co-contribution to help fund the premiums is a very good point and anyone with earnings up to about $60,000 may be eligible for something.

Alternatively making pre tax dollar contributions to Super to help fund the premiums is another way to keep costs down.

The other types of Life Insurance are:

Total and Permanent Disability cover (TPD) -

This would pay out a lump sum if you were disabled to the point that you would never be able to carry out your (own occupation) or any occupation that you are suitably trained for (depending on the definition). (This can also be linked to Superannuation, although only the any occupation definition is relevant in Super, if your occupation is highly skilled you would probably not want this cover in Super). This is a fairly low cost cover.

Critical Illness (also known as Trauma or Recovery)-

This would pay out a lump sum on diagnosis of a specified Critical Illness. This cannot be linked to Superanuation (unless in some cases if you are in your mid 50's) This is a dearer cover to have.

Income Protection - (sometimes known as Salary Continuance)

This is an Income producing benefit that would pay a monthly amount in the event of an accident, sickness or disability preventing you from working.

The benefit can be paid after as little as 14 days all the way through to retirement if required. Sometimes group policies (in Super) will only pay for 2 years or 5 years max.

This again is a dearer type of policy, if held outside of Superannuation the premiums are tax deductible.

Also if the Life Insurance or TPD are held within Superannuation there could be tax implications on payout.

Some of the bigger names for Life Insurance in Oz are:

ING
Comminsure
Aviva/Norwich Union
AXA
Zurich


Hope this helps, sorry to have babbled but I could talk about this stuff forever.


Regards

Andy

[HEAPS GOOD !!!]

Thanks for the info guys, Andy i am after all of it really, i wanna know that the mrs, and the kids will be ok should anything happen, also would like to pay the house off with any money that deos come out of it !!!!

Thank you

HG

[Snape Family]

Andew

I have PM you regarding this.

Tracey