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Insurance FAQs
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Ideally your latest super statements, any existing insurance schedules, mortgage and loan balances, rough household budget, and details of dependants. If you’ve had health issues, key dates and diagnoses help. With that, we can map out realistic scenarios and design the appropriate insurance cover.
Premiums for income protection held personally are usually deductible. Life (opens in a new tab) and TPD (opens in a new tab) generally aren’t, though deductibility can apply at fund level if inside super. Parts of advice fees linked to producing assessable income can sometimes be deducted. I often coordinate with your accountant to confirm treatment.
Yes, but sequence matters. We usually apply for any new cover first, wait for acceptance, then scale back or cancel old policies. That way you’re never uninsured in the middle. I also check waiting periods, exclusions, and loadings so the “upgrade” is genuinely an improvement.
Group cover in super can change or end when you move funds or employers. Before switching, we check what you’ll lose, what replacement options look like, and whether medical issues could make new cover harder to obtain. In some cases, keeping an old policy is critical.
At minimum, every few years, or when big changes happen: new child, major pay rise, new mortgage, business changes, or health events. Reviews check if sums insured, ownership, and premiums still make sense, or if cover can be reduced, reshaped, or replaced on better terms.
The only commissions I may receive are on certain insurance products, mainly risk cover. Any commission is fully disclosed, and I’ll explain alternatives such as fee-for-service. My advice process starts with your needs and numbers, not a particular insurer’s product list or sales target.
Holding cover in super can help with affordability, but it can affect claims, tax, and how benefits are paid to family. We decide case by case which policies are better inside or outside super, based on your cash flow, dependants, estate planning, and retirement plans.
TPD (opens in a new tab) pays a lump sum if you’re unlikely to work again under the policy definition. Trauma (opens in a new tab) pays a lump sum on diagnosis of specific major conditions. Income protection (opens in a new tab) replaces a portion of your income while you’re off work. They solve different problems and often work best in combination.
We run the numbers: loans, kids’ schooling, everyday expenses, partner’s income, existing super and insurance. Then we look at “what if” scenarios and calculate the lump sum needed to clear debt and support the household over time. The result is a figure based on maths, not guesswork.
I focus on personal risk cover: life insurance (opens in a new tab), total and permanent disability (TPD) (opens in a new tab), income protection (opens in a new tab), and trauma/critical illness (opens in a new tab). I don’t handle health, car, home and contents, travel, add-on, or funeral insurance. The goal is to protect income and family, not insure every possible minor inconvenience.
I look at your income, debts, dependants, super and existing cover, then map what would happen if you died, were disabled, or couldn’t work. From there, we set the right mix and level of cover, cut junk policies, and structure premiums sensibly around cash flow and tax.