Compare Income Protection Insurance
Income Protection Insurance (also commonly known as Salary Continuance Insurance) is designed to provide you with a replacement monthly income of up to 75% of your current income if you are suddenly unable to work due to illness or injury. It can help you protect and support your family financially so that you can cover your bills and household expenses, and give you the financial freedom to focus on your treatment or recovery.
Do you:
- Rely primarily on your income to pay for household expenses and bills?
- Have bills, credit card debt, rent or a mortgage to pay?
- Want extra financial security for you and your family?
- Want to be able to maintain a comfortable lifestyle if you weren’t able to earn an income for some time?
Then you should consider applying! To be compare income protection insurance with Cover Australia, and apply for a policy, you simply need to be:
- Aged between 18 and 60
- An Australian citizen or permanent resident
- Working at least 20 hours per week in your primary occupation for at least 12 months prior to the commencement of your policy. Or if you are self employed, you need to have been working in that position for at least 24 months prior to the commencement of your policy.
Cover Australia can offer you a range of flexible policies to compare Income Protection Insurance Australia wide, all tailored to your individual circumstances, as well as ongoing advice, assistance and service for the life of your policy. Our insurance products allow you to customise the features of your policy to fit with your lifestyle, including the waiting period, benefit period and policy type.
Many policies also include extra benefits such as a recurring disability benefit, a specified injury benefit, a transplant and cosmetic surgery benefit, and a death benefit. In addition, you also have the option of adding on further benefits such as day 1 accident cover, hospital benefits, nursing care or cover for business expenses.
Visit our Life Insurance Calculator to find an estimate of how much cover you may need.
Important Terms to Understand
Like Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) Insurance and Trauma Insurance policies, Income Protection quotes differ greatly between insurance companies by the number of ancillary benefits offered, the types of ancillary benefits offered, and most importantly by the definitions within the policy.
The most important definition is that of ‘disability’. This definition can be duty based, income based or time based. Some policies offer a combination of all. It is critical that you fully understand the definition of disability on your policy and ensure that it is relevant to your occupation and type of employment.
Other terminology used in Income Protection Insurance that you should understand includes:
Waiting Period
This is the period following disability for which no benefits will be paid. All Income Protection Insurance policies have a waiting period and they vary from 14 days up to 2 years. The most common waiting period is one month.
Lengthening the waiting period will have the effect of reducing your premium, so you should carefully consider your options and how long you could afford to support yourself on your own savings before you would need to claim your benefits, if you were suddenly unable to work.
Benefit Period
This is the maximum length of time for which benefits will be paid. Some older policies have Lifetime benefit periods but these have not been available for a number of years. Before cancelling a policy with this benefit period we strongly suggest that you seek advice from one of our qualified insurance advisors.
The maximum benefit period currently available is to the age of 70, but most insurance providers still only offer benefits payable to age 65.
Some of the more hazardous occupations will commonly have benefit periods restricted to 5 or even 2 years. Unlike with waiting periods, shortening your benefit period will have the effect of reducing your premium.
Agreed Value
To ensure that you receive the full benefit for which you are insured, at the time of the claim and with an Agreed Value policy you would only have to demonstrate that for the 12 months prior to your application your income was sufficient to warrant the benefit for which you are insured.
If at the time of the claim your income had dropped, that would make no difference.
Indemnity
With an Indemnity policy, you may be asked to prove that your income prior to disability was sufficient to warrant your benefit. Therefore if your income had dropped after applying for Income Protection Insurance, you may only receive part of the benefit for which you are insured.
It should be noted that Indemnity policies are significantly cheaper than Agreed Value policies, but should only be considered by employees who have stable jobs with little likelihood of changing or of a reduction in income.
Endorsed Agreed Value
If you need help with understanding the terms of your policy when comparing Income Protection Insurance quotes, the team at Cover Australia is available for ongoing advice and assistance whenever you need it.
Factors that can Affect your Income Protection Insurance Quote
There are a number of factors and lifestyle choices that can influence the total cost of your Income Protection Insurance policy and premiums. You should be aware of these before you make a decision to take out cover, and carefully consider how they may change over time and affect the amount you pay.
These factors include:
Your Age
Your Gender
Your Health & Lifestyle
Your general health as well as your family’s medical history are usually taken into consideration, and if you have any health conditions or a history of health conditions in your family, you may have to pay a higher rate. In addition, lifestyle choices such as smoking puts you at a higher risk of illness, and smokers will usually pay approximately twice as much as non-smokers for Income Protection Insurance.
If you give up smoking during the course of your policy, make sure you let your insurance advisor know so that we can submit the relevant documentation and get your premiums reduced. Please note that you will need to have stopped smoking for at least 12 months before this can take effect.
Your Occupation & Recreational Activities
Insurance providers classify policies by how likely you are to claim in line with your current occupation and recreational pursuits. So if you have a hazardous or high-risk job such as manual labour, or you are involved with dangerous recreations like rock climbing or extreme sports, you will have to pay a higher rate.
Helpful Tips
Before committing to any insurance policy, you need to make sure you completely understand the terms and included features, as well as compare different company’s product disclosure statements. It’s highly advised that you talk through your options with a professional insurance advisor before you make a final decision.
At Cover Australia we provide ongoing advice and support before and after you take out your Income Protection Insurance policy, as well as for the lifetime of your policy. Here are our top tips to help you choose the right cover for you.
- Before taking out any policy, make sure you ask these key questions: What’s covered under the policy, and what’s not covered? How much will I be paid when I make a claim? What will the premiums cost now, and in the future?
- Look for insurance policies with index-linked premiums, which means it will keep up with inflation, and Guaranteed Future Insurability, which allows you to increase your cover without further underwriting. This is especially important if you think your circumstances may change in the future, such as buying a house or having children.
- Check your policy for offset clauses, which allow insurance providers to reduce the amount of your benefit payouts if you have other sources of income, such as sick leave from your employer or Centrelink benefits.
Some policies will pay your benefits if you’re unable to work in your normal occupation, while some will only pay if you’re unable to work in any occupation that you’re suited to by education, training or experience. Make sure you choose an insurance policy that will cover you when you’re unable to work in your normal occupation.
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