Income Protection Insurance

Financial protection if you are temporarily unable to work due to illness or injury.

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Key features

  • You can apply if you're between 18-59 years old
  • Monthly payments if you can’t work due to illness or injury
  • Cover for up to 75% of your monthly income to a maximum of $12,000 per month*
  • No medical tests required on application
  • Available to purchase via self-managed super funds

*$12,000 cover until age 45; maximum cover of $10,000 from age 45 - 59.

What is Income Protection Insurance?

Income Protection gives you an alternative source of income if you are temporarily unable to work due to an illness or injury that has left you Totally Disabled or Partially Disabled.

A monthly payment for a nominated period of time can help you keep your household up and running, and provide for your loved ones while you recover.

That's what Income Protection is really about:  taking the financial pressure off so you can concentrate on getting back on your feet.

Income Protection

What am I covered for under Income Protection?

You can tailor your cover to suit your individual needs. Your choice of cover will impact the types of events you can claim against.

You can choose all three types of cover, or two or just one. It's up to you.

Accident Cover

You will be covered if you are temporarily unable to work due to an Accidental Injury (subject to any Special Conditions outlined in your Policy Schedule).

What you're covered for:

  • If you are injured in an Accident that has left you Totally Disabled and unable to work in any gainful occupation

    • OR

  • If you are injured in an Accident that has left you Partially Disabled and you have suffered a reduction of 20% or more in your ability to generate a monthly income, but you are still capable of performing some duties in a gainful occupation

    • Examples of accidental injuries include:

  • Breaking a leg in a household accident
  • Injuries sustained in a workplace accident or a transport accident

    •  

    Illness Cover

    You will be covered if you are temporarily unable to work due to an Illness (subject to any Special Conditions outlined in your Policy Schedule).

    What you're covered for:

  • If you suffer an illness that has left you Totally Disabled and unable to work in any gainful occupation

    • OR

  • If you suffer an illness that has left you Partially Disabled and you have suffered a reduction of 20% or more in your ability to generate a monthly income, but you are still capable of performing some duties in a gainful occupation

    • Examples of illnesses include:

  • Medical events such as a heart attack (of a specified severity) or stroke (resulting in neurological deficit)
  • Mental Health Related Illness as per PDS such as anxiety or depression

    •  

    Sports Cover

    If you take up Accident Cover, you can extend it with Sports Cover. This means you are covered if you are injured while playing a sport (subject to any Special Conditions outlined in your Policy Schedule) and are unable to work.

    What you're covered for:

  • If you are injured while participating in a Sport left Totally Disabled and unable to work in any gainful occupation

    • OR

  • If you are injured while participating in a Sport that has left you Partially Disabled and you have suffered a reduction of 20% or more in your ability to generate a monthly income, but you are still capable of performing some duties in a gainful occupation

    • Examples of Sporting injuries include:

  • Suffering a torn hamstring when playing tennis
  • Suffering a spinal injury while playing football

    •  

    PDS Download The full details of all covered conditions and the criteria that your diagnosis will need to meet are discussed in detail in the PDS.

    How much will it cost?

    At TAL, we understand that everyone is unique, so naturally your insurance should be too. That's why we've created TAL CoverBuilder to allow you to build your cover, your way.


    With Coverbuilder you can choose your insurance and your cover, tailor your cover amount and select the options that best suit you.

    Get started with TAL CoverBuilder

    GET A QUOTE

    Use our online tool to help you choose cover

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    Income Protection claims by gender and age

    Learn more

    Claims statistics based on total number of Total and Permanent Disability Insurance claims paid by gender and age by TAL Life Limited and Asteron Life & Superannuation Limited between 1 January 2020 and 31 December 2020. Age of claimant based on age at the date of event.
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    What other benefits does Income Protection include?

    Total Disability Benefit

    Income Protection pays you a Benefit, in the event that you are Totally Disabled as a result of something you are Covered for.

    You must be Totally Disabled for the entire Waiting Period, and solely because of the Illness or Injury you are Covered for you:

    • are not working in any Gainful Occupation;
    • are following the advice of a Medical Practitioner; and
    • are unable to attend or engage in one or more of the important income-producing duties of your Own Occupation

     



     

    Total Disability Benefit

    Total Disability Benefit

    Income Protection pays you a Benefit, in the event that you are Totally Disabled as a result of something you are Covered for.

    You must be Totally Disabled for the entire Waiting Period, and solely because of the Illness or Injury you are Covered for you:

    • are not working in any Gainful Occupation;
    • are following the advice of a Medical Practitioner; and
    • are unable to attend or engage in one or more of the important income-producing duties of your Own Occupation

     



     

    Partial Disability Benefit

    Partial Disability Benefit

    Income Protection pays you a Benefit if you are Partially Disabled as a result of a Covered event.

    You must be:

    • Working or capable of working in a Gainful Occupation; and
    • Under the ongoing care of, and following the advice of a Medical Practitioner; and
    • Have suffered a reduction of 20% or more in your ability to generate Monthly Income

    You must have been Totally Disabled for the entire Waiting Period.

    The Benefit Amount takes into consideration your average income in the 12 months prior to your Disability and the Monthly Income you received in the claimed period.



     

    Cover Pause

    Cover Pause

    You can pause your Cover for up to three months in the event of financial hardship. During Cover Pause you will not have to pay premiums.

    At the end of the Cover Pause period, you can re-start Cover without needing to go through the health and lifestyle assessment again.

    Once your Cover is restarted by paying your premium, a qualifying period of three months will apply for some medical conditions. You’ll be eligible to claim for those conditions should they occur three months or more after you re-start your Cover.

    You will not be eligible to claim should you become ill or injured during the qualifying period or during the period your Cover is paused.

    See PDS for further details

    Inflation Protection

    Inflation Protection

    You can choose whether you want your Cover to increase each year in line with the cost of living – this will mean that your premium will increase each year as the Cover is increased through a process called Indexation.

    Inflation Protection automatically increases your Income Protection cover amount by 3% every year, or by the Consumer Price Index - whichever is greater.

    See PDS for further details

     

    Recurrent Disability Benefit

    Recurrent Disability Benefit

    If a Total Disability or Partial Disability reoccurs from the same or a related cause within 12 months of a claim ending, we treat it as a continuation of the original claim which means no Waiting Period applies before payments recommence.

    Please note all claim periods will be added together to calculate the maximum Benefit Period for the Total Disability or Partial Disability.

    See PDS for further details



     

    Concurrent Disability Benefit

    Concurrent Disability Benefit

    Where you become Totally or Partially Disabled as a result of two separate and distinct unplanned Illnesses or Injuries, only one Benefit is payable under Income Protection. The Benefit paid will be the amount that provides the highest payment. 

    See PDS for further details



     

    Rehabilitation Expense Benefit

    Rehabilitation Expense Benefit

    If you are Totally Disabled or Partially Disabled we may reimburse the expense of your rehabilitation through an occupational or vocational Rehabilitation Program preapproved by us (less amounts reimbursed from elsewhere).

    Reimbursement is subject to:

    • Our prior written approval of the rehabilitation expense; and
    • A maximum allowable reimbursement of six times the monthly Benefit Amount.

    The cost of medical consultations and medical therapy consultations will not be reimbursed.



     

    Scheduled Injury Benefit

    Scheduled Injury Benefit

    Available for Accident Cover and Sports Cover only.

    The Scheduled Injury Benefit is paid for a specific period for the Injury events shown below.

    Note: Your selected Waiting Period for Income Protection does not apply to this benefit.

    The Benefit will be paid monthly in advance.

    Scheduled Injury / Payment Period

    • Fracture of the thigh or pelvis – 3 months
    • Fracture of the leg (between the knee and foot),  knee cap, upper arm, shoulder bone or jaw – 2 months
    • Fracture of the forearm (above the wrist), collarbone or heel – 1 month
    • Fracture of the wrist – 1 month
    • Fracture of a vertebrae – 1 month
    • Fracture of the skull (excluding bones of the nose and face) – 2 months

    See PDS for further details


     

    Waiver of Premium Benefit

    Waiver of Premium Benefit

    We will waive or reimburse your Income Protection premiums while you are receiving a Benefit payment for Total or Partial Disability.

    This applies when the:

    • Total or Partial Disability payments have accrued (including payments under Scheduled Injury Benefit)
    • Waiver of Premium starts to accrue from the first day of the Waiting Period
    • Waiver of Premium applies immediately after the Waiting Period for any premiums paid during the Waiting Period and monthly in arrears for subsequent premiums

    Waiver of Premium will stop on the earlier of:

    • You no longer being Totally Disabled or Partially Disabled;
    • The end of the Benefit Period



     

    Day One Accident (optional extra)

    Day One Accident (optional extra)

    Available for Accident Cover and Sports Cover only.

    You can choose to add the Day One Accident Option for an additional premium.

    If Covered under this option, we will backdate your Monthly Benefit payments to the Date of Disablement in the event of an Accidental Injury resulting in Total Disability for the duration of the Waiting Period.

    Payments will be made monthly in arrears.

    This option is only available when 2 and 4 week Waiting Periods have been selected and will not be available for selected occupations which require individual consideration, for example: construction worker, and road traffic controller.



     

    What important details do I need to know?

    What’s not covered:

    You will only be covered for the events listed under the Cover type you choose.   
    Eg, if you choose only Accident Cover, you will not be covered for any events listed under  Illness Cover or Sports Cover

    Regardless of the cover types you choose the following applies:

    • No payment will be made if the event giving rise to the claim is caused directly or indirectly by an intentional, self-inflicted act by you
    • Pregnancy, giving birth, miscarrying or having a pregnancy termination unless Total Disability or Partial Disability continues for longer than 3 months after pregnancy ends, in which case Disability will be considered to have started at the date the pregnancy ends
    • war, terrorism, civil commotion or unrest; guerrilla or insurgent activities in countries outside Australia;
    • you visiting a country for which the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has issued a 'Do Not Travel' warning advice prior to your travel to that country, and which continues to be in force during the time of your stay in that
      country
    • any Illness, Injury or Sports Injury that occurs as a result of, or during the course of, committing or attempting to commit a criminal offence; 

    Cover Start and End Dates

    Once your application is accepted by us your Cover continues until the Policy Anniversary prior to your 65th birthday as long as you have complied with the Duty of Disclosure and paid the premiums when due.

    Your Cover will end when Cover is removed from your Policy, Cover lapses through non-payment of premiums (where premiums are payable) or when Cover expires at age 64. There may be other reasons Cover may end.

    Please see the PDS for further details.

    What's not covered

    What’s not covered:

    You will only be covered for the events listed under the Cover type you choose.   
    Eg, if you choose only Accident Cover, you will not be covered for any events listed under  Illness Cover or Sports Cover

    Regardless of the cover types you choose the following applies:

    • No payment will be made if the event giving rise to the claim is caused directly or indirectly by an intentional, self-inflicted act by you
    • Pregnancy, giving birth, miscarrying or having a pregnancy termination unless Total Disability or Partial Disability continues for longer than 3 months after pregnancy ends, in which case Disability will be considered to have started at the date the pregnancy ends
    • war, terrorism, civil commotion or unrest; guerrilla or insurgent activities in countries outside Australia;
    • you visiting a country for which the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has issued a 'Do Not Travel' warning advice prior to your travel to that country, and which continues to be in force during the time of your stay in that
      country
    • any Illness, Injury or Sports Injury that occurs as a result of, or during the course of, committing or attempting to commit a criminal offence; 

    Cover Start and End Dates

    Once your application is accepted by us your Cover continues until the Policy Anniversary prior to your 65th birthday as long as you have complied with the Duty of Disclosure and paid the premiums when due.

    Your Cover will end when Cover is removed from your Policy, Cover lapses through non-payment of premiums (where premiums are payable) or when Cover expires at age 64. There may be other reasons Cover may end.

    Please see the PDS for further details.

    Waiting Periods & Benefit Periods

    Waiting Periods & Benefit Periods

    A choice of Waiting Periods applies from the Date of Disablement before Benefits commence:

    • 2 weeks;
    • 4 weeks;
    • 13 weeks; or
    • 2 years (104 weeks)

    You can also select the length of your Benefit Period (subject to eligibility). This is the length of time we will pay you a Benefit once we have accepted your claim and Monthly Benefit payments commence:

    • 1 year;
    • 2 years; or
    • 5 years

    Conditions

    Please note the following conditions:

    • You must be Totally or Partially Disabled for the entire waiting period
    • The Benefit Period is payable once per claimed condition, including any recurrences;
    • Benefit payments expire at the end of theBenefit Period; and
    • A maximum Benefit Period of 2 years applies for claims arising from Mental Health Related Illnesses even if a longer Benefit Period has been selected.

    Health & Lifestyle Assessment

    Health & Lifestyle Assessment

    When you apply for TAL Lifetime Protection, you will be asked a number of questions related to your health and lifestyle.  You can answer these online or over the phone.  No medicals are required when you apply.

    By agreeing to the Duty of Disclosure you have agreed to be honest and accurate in your answers to these questions.

    Your answers to the questions may mean that you have increased risk factors under the Policy.

    Loadings & Exclusions

    In some cases we will be unable to provide you with all or some parts of the Cover for which you have applied.

    In other cases, Cover may be subject to conditions such as a Premium Loading, or an Exclusion.

    A Premium Loading will mean that you pay a higher premium for the Cover

    An Exclusion will mean that you will not be Covered if you suffer a specified excluded medical condition, or you are injured as a result of participating in an excluded pastime or activity.

    Income Calculations & Offsets

    Your income calculation and benefit amount

     You Income is considered to be the total of:

    • your average income in the 12 months prior to your Disability occuring.   This may include income from your occupation, your partnerships or trusts,  income from your investments, and other sources of income
    • the Monthly Income you received in the claimed period

    We calculate 75% of your total income to arrive at your Incomed Protection Benefit payment. Your Benefit payments start to accrue when your claim is admitted and your Waiting Period has expired.

    Payments are paid monthly in arrears; and Benefit payments will continue for as long as you are Totally Disabled or Partially Disabled in accordance with the terms and conditions of your Policy and will cease at the end of the Benefit Period or Cover Expiry, whichever is earlier.

    Adjustments and offsets

    Adjustments and Offsets reduce your Income Protection Benefit, if you receive other income payments, which together with the Benefit exceed 75% of your Average Monthly income.

    Examples of other income payments include:

    • any other income protection or similar policy;
    • any workers’ compensation, legal judgment, or
    • statute related payment; or
    • sick leave greater than 60 days

    Claims at TAL

    Every claim we pay is a promise kept

    In 2020, we paid $2.7 billion in claims to 36,901 customers and their families. That’s equivalent to over $45 million a week.

    People often think claims are all about payments to families when a loved one passes away. And of course, that's part of what we do. But 68% of all the claims we paid last year were to help customers keep living the lives they love, after an accident or illness. 

    Learn More

     

    Your guide to making a claim

    When things go wrong with your health, or the health of a loved one, you may find yourself doing many things for the first time. It’s sometimes tricky to know where to start and it can feel overwhelming. We’re here to support you to make your claim as easy as possible.

    If you need to make a claim with TAL, you’ll be assigned a dedicated claims consultant. They’re there to understand your situation and what they can do to support you when making a claim. 

    Learn More

     

     

    Why choose TAL as your Income Protection provider?

    Australia's leading life insurer
    TAL is a leading Life Insurance specialist
    TAL Customers
    Trusted by 4.5 million Australians
    Commitment to Claims
    $2.7 billion in claims paid in 2020
    Career Coaching
    When you're ready, our Career Coaching services can help


    What other insurance can I include in my TAL Lifetime Protection Plan?

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    2021 © TAL Services Limited a Dai-ichi Life Group Company.

    "TAL is Australia's leading life insurer" based on Inforce premiums for risk only life insurance policies, NMG Consulting (2021).

    The information provided on this website is general advice only and does not take into account your individual needs, objectives or financial situation. You should read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) before making a decision to purchase or continue to hold a product. Life insurance issued by TAL Life Limited ABN 70 050 109 450 AFSL 237848.