Personal Insurance advice and service you can trust.
As part of Clicks’ Contractor Benefits Program, Life Shield is proud to offer our specialist service and discounted policy rates for the life of your policies.
Unlike other types of insurances, Personal Insurances such as Life Insurance and Income Protection vary greatly across the Australian marketplace and therefore it is important to have someone on your side who understands the market and who can easily explain your options, allowing you to make an educated decision on the amount and types of cover relevant to protecting you and your family.
Income Protection
Protecting your income in the event of not being able to work in your own occupation due to illness or injury should be a priority for all working professionals.
Income protection insurance aims to protect (generally up to 75%) of the life insured’s income in the event that they are unable to work due to accident or illness. Income protection policies vary greatly. Waiting period, benefit period, type of contract (agreed amount or indemnity), ownership (either superannuation or self-owned) and additional benefits are some of the features that need to be taken into consideration when matching your situation to a policy. Also the specific definitions within policies need to be taken into consideration.
Life Insurance
Life Insurance pays a lump sum in the event of death to your beneficiaries in order to ensure that debts can be paid and your dependants have funds available to meet ongoing financial needs.
Often life insurance is owned within the superannuation environment however there may be tax consequences for beneficiaries if not structured correctly.
Total and Permanent Disability Insurance
This form of insurance is normally available as an optional benefit on a Term Life or Trauma policy. The benefit is a lump sum paid if you become Totally and Permanently Disabled. You must be disabled to such an extent that you are unlikely to ever engage in:
- Your own occupation; or
- Any occupation
The first definition is by far a more beneficial policy to be assessed under, however it is likely to be the most expensive. The second definition is much more restrictive to claim in that it includes any occupation to which you may be suited by education, training and/or experience.
Trauma Insurance
This type of insurance is sometimes referred to as ‘Recovery Insurance’. It is the lump sum which is paid upon diagnosis of a list of traumatic conditions is with the purpose of covering financial requirements during the recovery time. Trauma claim conditions include, but are not limited to: heart attack, stroke, cancer, paraplegia, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, chronic liver, lung and kidney disease and many more. You buy this policy this policy separately or can be included in your income protection policy.
Review your Life Insurance within Superannuation
Many superannuation funds have some level of default Life Insurance cover. It makes sense to review your policy to ensure that this cover meets your needs – from the perspective of both the insured amount and the premium cost.
Owning Life Insurance within superannuation is often a popular choice for the young as the cost does not affect your cash flow – rather it is deducted from your retirement savings. It is important to note however that there may be tax consequences on benefits paid from superannuation.
Most superannuation funds have some level of default Life and Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) Insurance – if you have dependants or debts however this amount is rarely enough. The amount can be increased within your fund to meet your needs, however it is a good idea to review it to ensure that it is cost effective. There are no limitations on having multiple Life Insurance policies, therefore a ‘top up’ policy is also an option.
Issues to consider:
- Do you have enough life insurance to cover debts and to provide for family members and other dependants?
- Are level premiums available within your fund to ensure long term affordability?
- ‘Own occupation’ based definition for TPD will provide greater ability to claim rather than the ‘Any occupation’ definition within your fund.
- Review tax consequences for TPD payments from your fund and Life Insurance payments to non-dependants.
Why Life Shield?
Ensure you have the right insurance at the right price
Life Shield enables all Australians the ability to work with a specialist adviser over the phone, email, Skype or in person where convenient, in order to ensure that they and their families have the correct insurances in place now and as their situations change into the future. Our signature professional online service means with Life Shield you can arrange your income protection and life insurance policies from the comfort of your home, office and outside business hours at a time that suits you.
- Income Protection for IT professional at special rates Australia-wide
- Income Protection policies that allow you to work up to 10 hours per week whilst on claim and still be paid a full benefit at claim
- No working capability clauses on income protection claims
- Australia-wide medical network that comes to you, if required, for blood tests and quick medicals at no cost to you
- Tax effective premiums where available
- Family and Business discount
- Professional Claims Assistance and support
A fresh approach to insurance
Life Shield’s approach to insurances provides a wide range of solutions to help you look after your lifestyle and your family’s wellbeing. We think that all professionals deserve the peace of mind that insurance provides so wherever you are located throughout Australia or however time poor you are, we offer you the specialist advice and superior service you deserve, anywhere, anytime.
