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.

There are also limitations and features in superannuation that you should be aware of, as the cover in most cases is standard compared to holding insurances outside superannuation.

You can leave your family in a worse position, same position or better position by dictating the level of cover you take out and options available, this will ultimately impact how much you pay for the cover.

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.

We offer a service to compare the top insurers in Australia and recommend the most appropriate options for your situation to provide you with a Personal Protection Plan.

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. You may also get in touch by calling our office at 9188 1547 and or email admin@rpwealthmanagement.com.au so we can organise a complimentary review of  your overall financial health and current protection arrangements.

1. https://moneysmart.gov.au/how-life-insurance-works

Before acting on any of the information contained in this article you should obtain special advice from a specialist investment or risk professional, which is appropriate to your specific investment or risk needs, objectives and financial situation.