What is insurance through your super?

What is insurance through super?

Insurance through your super is a way to take out insurance cover to protect you and your loved ones financially if you suffer from an injury or illness.

What are some of the benefits of taking out insurance through your super?

Convenient - we’ll deduct the insurance premiums from your super balance each month, so you won’t have to worry about paying out of pocket.

Flexible - if you have insurance cover through your UniSuper account, you’ll have the flexibility to apply for more cover, reduce your cover, or cancel your cover if your circumstances change.

Affordable - we bulk-buy insurance cover, which helps keep your premium costs down.

What types of cover does UniSuper offer?

We offer three different types of insurance cover:

• Death cover provides a payment if you’re diagnosed with a terminal illness or pass away.
• Total & Permanent Disablement (TPD) cover gives you a lump sum payment if you can’t work due to permanent disability.
• Income Protection cover provides a monthly payment if you can't work because you’re injured or ill (not available to Defined Benefit Division (DBD) members).

You can check the amount and type of insurance cover you currently have by logging in to your online account and selecting Insurance from the menu options.

If you’re a DBD member, you may be entitled to inbuilt benefits which are different to the insurance cover described in this article. Refer to the Defined Benefit Division and Accumulation 2 PDS available at unisuper.com.au/pds for information.

Receive cover without providing health evidence

When you join UniSuper, you may be eligible to receive insurance cover without providing evidence of your health. This is known as default and top-up cover. The amount and type of default and top-up cover you may be eligible for depends on your membership type and whether you have already received, applied for, or opted out of cover. Refer to our Insurance in your super booklet for more information.

Applying for more cover

Default and top-up cover may not provide enough cover to suit your personal situation, or you may not be eligible to receive it. That’s why we offer the option to apply for additional cover. As part of the application process for additional cover, you must provide evidence of your health that satisfies the Insurer.

You can apply for additional cover through:

• your online account
• by completing the Application for Insurance at UniSuper form available at unisuper.com.au/forms.

Your application will be subject to consideration and acceptance by the Insurer, who may accept your cover with or without conditions or decline your application.

Transferring cover from another fund

If you have insurance with another provider, you may be able to transfer it to UniSuper together with your super balance. Having your super and insurance in the one place can help minimise fees and make it easier to track your premiums and account balance.

Learn more about transferring your cover.

How much does insurance cover through UniSuper cost?

The cost of insurance cover depends on:

• the type and amount of cover you have
• your age and sex at birth
• the benefit period and waiting period, if you have Income Protection cover.
• the type of work you do (which determines your occupation classification rating), if you’re a Personal Account member.

To get an estimate of how much insurance cover costs, you can use our insurance calculator at unisuper.com.au/insurance-calculator.

Can you cancel or decrease your cover?

You can cancel or decrease your cover at any time through your online account, by completing a Changing your insurance cover form available at unisuper.com.au/forms, or by writing to us.

Making an insurance claim

We know that members and their families who contact us to make a claim for insurance benefits are going through an extremely difficult time. We’re committed to making the claims process as quick and easy as possible. Learn more about how to make an insurance claim.

To learn more about the topics discussed in this article, please refer to the Insurance in your super booklet.

Key terms to know

• Waiting period - the amount of time that needs to pass before an Income Protection benefit can be paid to you. If you recovered from your illness or injury during the waiting period, no income protection benefit will be payable.
• Benefit period - the maximum amount of time you can receive an Income Protection payment after your claim has been accepted.
• Insurance premiums – the amount we deduct from your super account to pay for your insurance cover.
• Occupation classification – a rating that helps us determine the level of risk associated with the type of work you do. An occupation classification rating factor is applied to each occupation classification, which could change the cost of your insurance cover.