The last quarter of 2012 financial year saw a great number of life insurance complaints filed at the Superannuation Complaints Tribunal. Telephone complaints coming from fund members totaled 2809 while the number of written complaints reached 627. Summary of complaints with decisions by both fund trustees and insurers upheld by the SCT: In…
At the Association of Super Funds of Australia event, Deputy Chair Ross Jones acknowledged that APRA’s initial position that restricts benefits offered to coverage acquired through life insurance was stiff. When selecting an insurer, licensees were asked to check not only insurance level premiums but all insurance arrangements aspects prior to selecting an insurer. The…
AIA Australia said a poll result showed slow adoption of life insurance within self-managed super fund. The survey of over 400 financial advisers that included accountants, brokers and advisers said SMSF trustees’ “knowledge gap on life insurance” was the reason. About 45% of respondents said less number of clients had life insurance within SMSF and…
Business partnerships are common but there is a concern about the business surviving the tide should one of the partners die or suffer a permanent disability. Typically, a successor is not the immediate solution to a surviving partner but it may be difficult not to have one if the business has to continue. The remaining…
As the sole earner or as a contributing earner in a family, life insurance is important. Family members may suffer financially in the event the earner meets an untimely death. The financial burdens to take care of can be tough. Ensuring that there is financial security in place will help keep the family from economic…
Changes are about to happen to many fund members whose cost benefits have been overlooked by SMSFs. Over 20,000 clients under the self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) who have been under-insured will be offered automatic life coverage of up to $750,000. According to AIA Australia, this is the aim of insurance groups and financial advisers to…
Life Insurance – Should You Go for the Lowest Premiums? When you shop for Life Insurance it can be quite tempting to buy the policy with the lowest premium. However, this may not be the best move as lowest premium does not always mean the best deal. Yes, you may enjoy savings now, but later…
Some people have second thoughts about protecting themselves with Life Insurance and Income Protection as they find them unnecessary, only to realise later on that it can provide them and their families with the financial assistance that they need. Life Insurance and Income Protection are two of the most common types of insurance. Sickness, accident,…
Do you know how much health care will cost you these days? It’s becoming increasingly expensive especially if you are admitted into a private hospital. And if you are not covered by Personal Insurance, how do you think you’ll be able to pay for medication and other hospitalization costs? Your emergency fund will sure be…
No one can really tell when sickness or accident may strike, that’s why it makes a lot of sense to have Accident and Sickness insurance coverage of some sort. Although Life Insurance can also fit the bill, usually this is not enough to cover lost income of the policyholder due to an inability to work.…