Check your industry fund insurance definitions

Check your industry fund insurance definitions.

The world of insurance can be confusing and full of jargon which can make it hard to really know what you are and aren’t covered for.

If you have an industry super fund that was opened for you by your employer, you may not be aware of exactly what cover you have, and as such you need to be careful with the insurance that was offered ‘standard’ inside that fund.  Standard or default cover can often be obscure or have many ‘grey areas’ or ‘obscure exclusions’ that you may not be aware of.

The Australian Securities & Investment Commission (ASIC) have just completed some extensive research into this type of insurance offered by these funds and found that 3 out of every 5 claims (yes, 60%) were declined because they did not meet the funds definitions.

Poor claims handling processes also contributed to some consumers withdrawing their claims: one in eight, or 12% of claims lodged with insurers did not proceed to a decision.

ASIC report

It’s critical that the cover you have in place is up to standard and that you (and your family) have 100% certainty that money will be there when you need to claim.

Requesting a copy of your funds’ Product Disclosure Statement and checking the definitions of disablement is a great place to start.

If you feel as though you need more help to check your industry fund insurance definitions, get in touch with your super fund or a financial adviser who can conduct research into your fund and insurance to give you peace of mind that you will not be caught up in these unfair claim decisions.

Have some questions? Want to know how it applies to you? Want a review of your personal situation? Click here to book a Free 15 Minute Discovery Session, give us a call on 1800 577 336, or email us at hello@wealtheon.com.au.

Information on this site may be regarded as general advice. That is, your personal objectives, needs or financial situations were not taken into account when preparing this information. Accordingly, you should consider the appropriateness of any general advice we have given you, having regard to your own objectives, financial situation and needs before acting on it. Where the information relates to a particular financial product, you should obtain and consider the relevant product disclosure statement before making any decision to purchase that financial product.

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