Income Protection Insurance Australian Super

Income Protection Insurance Australian Super – The Upside and Downside

The future is very unpredictable, and there are events that take place that can easily paralyze you financially. One such event is if you are unable to continue working due to an illness or injury. The inability to earn an income can completely throw your life in disarray, which is why having an income protection insurance cover is of utmost importance. You can decide to take out standalone income protection insurance, although Australian super funds also offer income protection policies.

Advantages

If you decide to have your income protection insurance within your superannuation fund, there are certain benefits. For instance, your premiums are likely to be much cheaper than if you had a standalone policy. This is because your super fund purchases income protection as a group policy, and is therefore able to purchase the insurance at wholesale prices, and these low costs are then transferred to you.

You do not have to go through the hectic process of health and lifestyle assessment when you take out your income protection insurance. Australian super funds will include you in the group policy and the whole group will be covered irrespective of individual circumstances. This means that as long as you are a member of the super fund, you will be accepted unconditionally for an income protection cover.

In case you have an occupation that is deemed risky by insurance providers, this will not be an issue if you take out your income protection in your super. This is because you are included in the group policy. You will also end up paying for your premiums at a competitive rate since you are paying using your contributions to the fund. These contributions are taxed at a rate of 15 per cent. When paying for a standalone insurance policy, you will have to pay from your after-tax income, which may attract a tax rate of up to 45 per cent.

Disadvantages

Once you have taken out your income protection insurance in an Australian super, you cannot claim for a tax deduction. Making a claim is also complicated because you have to satisfy the conditions of the insurance provider as well as those of the trustee of the super fund before any benefits are paid out. Even after the claim is deemed successful, the insurance provider will pay your benefits to the super fund trustee, who will then pay you. This process is not only lengthy, but may cause delays in accessing your benefits.

Some superannuation funds offer you a maximum benefit period of only two years. This may not be sufficient for you, especially if you have suffered an injury that may take longer to heal. You may also end up getting a very limited level of cover and benefits that may not address all your needs. The funds that are meant for your retirement are the ones used to pay for your premiums. This means that your retirement funds are eaten into and by the time you withdraw your retirement benefits, they may not be enough to take care of you in old age. Click here for more information about income insurance cover.

Decision

It is important to weigh the benefits and downside of income protection within a super so you can make the best decision for your situation.

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Income Protection Insurance Australian Super is a post from: http://www.mecovered.com.au.

Income Protection Insurance And Tax

The Basic Facts

If you are employed and rely heavily on your income to pay your mortgage and other debts, then it is time for you to consider having income protection insurance. This type of policy will give you peace of mind knowing that you will still have an income in the event that you are unable to work due to an illness or injury. The benefit from income protection will enable you to not only service your loans, but also maintain your lifestyle until you are able to resume work.

Tax Deductibility

It is important to understand the benefits you will get from income protection insurance and tax regulations affecting your policy. Income protection insurance is tax deductible because the benefit you get is regarded as a substitute to your regular income. In case you had taken out your income protection insurance as a combined policy with your death policy, you can still claim tax deduction.

You will need to show what part of the premium is used to pay for income protection, and you can then claim a tax deduction based on this amount. Your insurance provider will be able to advice you on how much of the premium is used to pay for income protection. If it is not possible to define what part of the premium specifically pays for income protection, then you will not be able to claim for tax deductibility.

Non Eligible Situations

There are instances when you will not be able to claim tax deductibility for your income protection insurance. If you have a policy that is meant to pay your benefit as a lump sum amount, you will not be able to claim tax deductibility. You will also not be able to claim for tax deductibility if you have taken out your income protection insurance through your superannuation fund.

Income Protection Through Employers

If your employer has taken out an income protection insurance policy on your behalf, then the company can apply for a tax deduction. However, when the benefit is paid out to you, it will be taxed since this benefit is treated as an income for you.

Claims

Once you make a claim for tax deduction, the amount you get will depend on your marginal tax rate, which is the highest tax rate that you are supposed to pay. If you successfully make a claim and are paid the benefits, then you should include this payment when making your tax returns.

When your income protection cover is within the super fund, you have to satisfy the insurance provider and the trustee of the fund on the legitimacy of your claim before any benefit can be paid out. If you are able to satisfy both parties that yours is a legitimate claim, the insurance provider will pay your benefits to the trustee, who will then pay you. This process sometimes ends up causing delays.

Making Savings

You can make savings on your income protection insurance, and tax reduction can also be achieved. All you need to do is pay your premiums yearly or every six months. This payment, however, has to be made before the 30th of June. This helps you push your tax deduction forward, so you will end up with less tax. Visit us for more information about income protection insurance.

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Income Protection Insurance And Tax is a post from: http://www.mecovered.com.au.

Income Protection Insurance Adelaide

Income Protection Insurance Adelaide – Know Your Options

Income protection insurance helps you to get back on your feet financially when you are unable to work due to illness or injury. If you are in full time employment and normally use your income to pay for significant debts like mortgage and day to day expenses, then it is critical that you have income protection insurance. Adelaide insurance companies offer various insurance options to help you and your family maintain your lifestyle as you recover till you are able to resume work.

Types Of Income Protection

There are several types of income protection insurance in Adelaide. There is that which is provided by insurance companies, which covers you for up to 75 per cent of your income. It offers you the widest range of benefits and provided that you pay your premiums, the insurer is not allowed to cancel your policy. The insurer will also not be able to change the terms of your insurance policy once you have taken out the policy.

The other type of income protection insurance is the group salary continuance that is taken out by employers for their employees. You will be covered for up to 75 per cent of your salary, but the policy is normally very general and does not address your specific circumstances.

General insurance companies also provide income protection known as sickness and accident insurance. It covers you for specified sicknesses and accidents, but the policy is usually offered at a fixed rate. The biggest problem with this policy is that the insurance provider can cancel the policy. Once you make a claim, the insurance provider might decline to renew your policy, leaving you exposed and vulnerable.

Premiums

Premiums are calculated differently for income protection insurance. Adelaide insurance providers will normally base your premiums on your age; your premiums continue to increase as you grow older. If your premiums remain the same, then your level of your cover will reduce as you grow older. Your gender, health, occupation, and whether or not you smoke will all be factored in when calculating your premiums.

Benefit Period

The benefit period is the length of time during which you will be paid once you are unable to work. Normally, most income protection policies will pay you up to the age of 65 years, or you can choose the number of years that you prefer to be paid. If you choose a longer benefit period, then the premiums you will pay are likely to be higher.

Waiting Period

The waiting period refers to the time within which you will not be paid your benefit once you are unable to work. The insurance company will allow you to pick the waiting period that you prefer, which may range from 14 days to 2 years. If you have a shorter waiting period, your premiums will be higher. It is therefore advisable to consider selecting a longer waiting period.

In the event that you will be out of work, you can use other sources of savings during your waiting period. Your waiting period may be waived if your insurance policy has an accident benefit. This means you are entitled to your benefit immediately if you are involved in an accident that leaves you unable to work. Click here for more information about income insurance cover.

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Income Protection Insurance Adelaide is a post from: http://www.mecovered.com.au.

Life Insurance Bupa

Insurance Made For You

You deserve a life filled with stability and peace of mind, and you can achieve this by taking out life insurance. Bupa life insurance enables your beneficiaries to get a lump sum payout when you die. With Bupa life insurance, you are assured of getting the policy that best suits you. You will be able to choose the cover that addresses your needs and the amount you know can comfortably take care of your family’s needs in the event of your demise.

Flexibility

Normally, you will need to take a medical examination in order to get life insurance. Bupa life insurance, however, does not require you to have a medical examination or blood tests. When you apply for this life insurance, you will be able to pick from several options, including cash insurance, funeral insurance or injury cash insurance. Your insurance application will be accepted as long as you meet the age limits. You will also be able to choose how you will make your payments, whether monthly or annually.

Products

There are several products available that you can pick from with Bupa life insurance. You can decide to take out death insurance, and you can select from death by any cause, death by accident, and terminal illness.

Features

You can apply for a maximum life cover amount of 500,000 dollars if you are between 56 and 64 years, but the maximum amount increases to 1,000,000 if you are in the age bracket of 16 to 55. You can apply for Bupa life insurance if you are a permanent Australian citizen. If your death is as a result of a car accident, then your beneficiaries will be eligible for motor vehicle accident payout. This is an additional 20 per cent, which will be paid out together with the death benefits.

The cover indexation benefit allows your insurance provider to increase your insurance amount every year to keep up with the prevailing inflation rate. Your insurance cover will normally be increased at a minimum rate of 5 percent. The funeral expense benefit will provide your family with an advance amount of 15,000 dollars to assist with the costs for your funeral. Your cover is guaranteed as long as you promptly pay your premiums. You will also get protection globally, 24 hours a day.

When you take out a life insurance policy, your premiums normally increase every year as you grow older. However, with Bupa life insurance, you will pay a fixed amount of premiums for the first three years, unless you decide to increase your cover within this time. If you decide to take a large amount of cover, then you will be eligible for discounts. Click here to get more information about life insurance cover.

Applying For Cover

It is important to read the product disclosure statement before making a decision to purchase life insurance. Bupa life insurers will offer you all the information you need to enable you to make an informed decision. After taking out the insurance cover, you may decide it is not what you wanted. Bupa insurers give you a window of 14 days within which you can cancel your policy. If you cancel the policy within this time, you are not penalized in any way and you receive a refund for any premiums you have paid.

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Life Insurance Bupa is a post from: http://www.mecovered.com.au.

Life Insurance Benefits

Combining Benefits To Suit Your Needs

Despite the fact that life is very unpredictable, you have the choice of preparing for the inevitable. Life insurance benefits ensure that once you die, your family will be able to access a lump sum payout or pension payments to enable them continue their lives without interruption. The benefits will ensure that they will be financially stable enough to pay for day to day bills, pay for mortgage, the children’s education, pending medical bills and any other debts you may have left unpaid before your demise.

Features

Most life insurance benefits can be paid out even before your demise. If a certified medical practitioner ascertains that you will not live longer than 12 months, you will be able to access 100 percent of your life insurance benefits. If you are married, your premiums can be 5 percent cheaper. You can achieve this by taking out a joint life insurance cover with your spouse.

You will need to renew your life insurance policy when the current term ends. Whenever you renew your policy, the premiums will increase because you will have increased in age. The insurance provider considers you as being more risky as you get older. The insurance provider can also increase the premiums based on the prevailing consumer price index. However, the premiums remain the same as long as your current term has not ended.

Protection

When you decide to take out a life insurance cover, there are certain features you can incorporate into your cover to ensure you have a comprehensive policy that covers you wholesomely. A mortgage protection within your life insurance benefits ensures that if you suddenly die or are disabled, your home will not be sold.

An estate protection will ensure that there are funds set aside to enable the proper division of your estate. This removes the risk of other interested parties trying to interfere with the division of your estate. Debt protection ensures that there are funds to pay for all debts, while family protection ensures there are enough funds to enable your family maintain their current standard of living into the foreseeable future.

If you are in business, a partnership protection will enable your partner to buy your share of the business, while a key person protection will compensate your business for your demise. A business loan protection will enable your business to pay off loans in your absence if you are a key person in that business.

Benefits

There are certain life insurance benefits that can be incorporated into your policy. Your sum insured can be indexed, whereby your sum insured is increased at the same rate as the consumer price index. This is usually done on every anniversary of your policy, and the insurance provider will reflect the changes without requiring any further medical details or information from you. The funeral expenses benefit is paid out to your beneficiaries to help in off laying your funeral expenses. Visit us for more info.

You can also have a financial planning benefit that provides funds to your beneficiaries to help them hire a certified financial consultant. The consultant should be approved by the insurance company, and will draw up a financial plan for your beneficiaries.

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Life Insurance Benefits is a post from: http://www.mecovered.com.au.

Life Insurance Best

Best Arguments for Getting Coverage – Not What You Expect

Just as people would likely have their reasons, whether genuine or mistaken, for not getting coverage, there also exist countless reliable arguments why you should get life coverage. Here are some of the best arguments why you need life cover.

Life Insurance: Best Way To Prove Your Faith In The Future

Contrary to common perception, getting life coverage is not an indicator that you expect bad things to happen. Rather, it actually shows that you have confidence in the future; therefore, you’re willing to invest in it.

Only a rational thinking person is wise enough to understand that the likelihood of unexpected occurrences is quite high. Indeed, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare indicates that in 2009 Australian males had a 50% chance of getting a cancer diagnosis before reaching 85 years of age, while females had a one in three chance of receiving the same diagnosis. In light of such circumstances, such a person is not fearful of the future. Instead, by buying coverage, he/ she is doing what any reasonable person would do when faced with impending crisis: developing a disaster management plan.

Guaranteed Payment From The Start

Anyone who has been in business or possesses any form of investment knows just how much patience it takes to ever get any real benefits from the resources put into such investments. Unless by an out-of-the-ordinary chance, you can hardly get back your investment with a profit, just as soon as you put your money into it. Life coverage is clearly different from this.

Once you purchase coverage, you are assured of guaranteed payment when you lodge a legitimate claim. This gives you a much greater sense of security than you would have with any form of investment.

The Direct Opposite Of A Business Investment

Another interesting aspect is that you face the risk of losing investments in the unfortunate circumstance that you become incapacitated, hence unable run your business competently. This is the direct opposite of what happens when you have life insurance best with a total and permanent disability cover rider. In such an instance, you actually benefit at the time when you are physically incapacitated instead of losing out, which happens with business investments.

Therefore, if you thought that your business venture and investments could simply replace your need for life insurance coverage, you surely need to re-evaluate such mistaken assumptions.

A Never-changing Assurance Of Financial Security

We’ve all heard of businesses closing shop due to downturns in the market or savings being depleted due to emergency needs. Such incidences reveal just how volatile and unpredictable business investments can be and how prone savings are to being depleted. This is clearly different from life coverage, which offers a guaranteed benefit payment that never changes regardless of the changing market dynamics.

The only time life cover benefit payments can be accessed is when a policy holder passes on or is terminally ill. Meaning that the money cannot be used recklessly, as it is with easily-accessible savings. This provides greater assurance for the financial security of your dependents. Visit us for more information about life insurance cover.

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Life Insurance Best is a post from: http://www.mecovered.com.au.

Life Insurance Brisbane

Do You Still Believe These Insane Myths About Life Insurance, Brisbane?

Have you ever met someone who bought insurance for only half the value of his/ her car? That’s completely insane, right? Unfortunately, that’s the exact thing that happens when you purchase insufficient life insurance – you’re literally buying half or even less of what you need. Such an unfortunate circumstance has to do with many pervasive myths that Australians have concerning life coverage.

Here are a couple of myths that you definitely must eradicate if you intend to get the best from life insurance, Brisbane.

Today’s Expenses Are More Important Than Tomorrow’s Needs

According to a 2014 survey by MetLife and FSC, approximately half of the respondents indicated that current expenses present their main barrier to purchasing insurance. This is because they perceive current needs to be more urgent than future needs. However, when looked at critically, why would anyone decide to build something that will simply crumble in the future?

Just as you put in resources to improve your current state, you should also put in as much effort to ensure that whatever, you’re working for will not get destroyed in future.

This perception sounds much like the reasoning that keeps many people from putting aside savings for the future. People tend to get caught up with the current needs, so much so that they hardly think of the future. If you truly value your life, you must treat your future with as much regard as you do your present. Only then will you be able to secure your financial state and that of your family, to withstand all the shocks and surprises in life.

Insurers Never Pay

Shockingly, more than half of the respondents interviewed in the 2014 survey by MetLife and FSC revealed that they hardly trust insurance companies to honor claims made by policy holders. Even from a cursory point of view, this perception is quite surprising, especially since no company would ever have lasting business if they didn’t actually offer any real value to their customers.

Remember that many of the highly reputable insurers have been in business (quite successfully too) for many years.

One thing that would-be policy holders need to understand is that as much as insurers seek to give a service, they must also make a reasonable profit out of it. Otherwise their businesses wouldn’t be in operation for long. This means that they will assuredly reject payment of fraudulent claims, which are designed to fleece the company.

If you heard of anyone not being paid their dues, try to find out whether they really had a legitimate claim or not, before you conclude that the insurance company was at fault.

Moreover, if indeed anyone has been wrongfully denied his/ her dues by an insurance company, there exist several avenues through which such grievances can be handled. The process of contesting any non-payment by the insurance company is always clearly elaborated by insurers within the product disclosure statement provided to each policy holder. This process would involve supervisory bodies that have legislative powers to correct any misdeeds by insurers. Click here for more information about life insurance coverage.

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Life Insurance Brisbane is a post from: http://www.mecovered.com.au.