Living with a life insurance policy
A policy, read ring by ring
A life insurance policy can stay with you for many years. For a policy you own directly, the insurer sends a notice of what you are covered for before each anniversary; a nomination needs keeping current; one day there may be a claim. This guide reads those years the way you would read a tree, from the heart outward, using the industry’s own Code of Practice and ASIC’s Moneysmart.
An independent guide. Not an insurer, not a broker and not a financial adviser, and nothing here is advice about your own policy.
Six rings, read from the heart
Each ring is one part of keeping a policy: the promises underneath it, the people it is for, the yearly look, the changes, the claim, and what to do if something goes wrong.
- IThe Code that sits at the heart
What insurers who subscribe to the Life Insurance Code of Practice promise, and who holds them to it.
- IIWho receives the money
Beneficiaries, binding and non-binding nominations, and why cover inside super follows super’s rules.
- IIIReviewing cover as life changes
The yearly notice, and the moments Moneysmart suggests looking again.
- IVCancelling, changing or replacing
The cooling-off period, refunds, lapsed premiums and the risks of swapping one policy for another.
- VMaking a claim
Who to contact, what you may be asked for, and the Code’s timeframes, step by step.
- VIWhen something goes wrong
Complaining to the insurer or super fund, and taking it further to AFCA.
Moments to look at your cover again
Moneysmart’s guides to life’s big changes keep returning to the same two things: what insurance you hold, and who you have named to receive it.
Marrying or formalising a relationship
Moneysmart suggests reviewing your super beneficiary nomination and checking whether your life insurance should now include your partner. Getting married can revoke an existing will.
A baby
As a family grows, insurance needs may change. Moneysmart suggests reviewing life and income protection cover, and checking that your nominated beneficiaries are up to date.
Separating
Moneysmart’s checklist includes updating insurance policies, checking super beneficiary nominations and reviewing any beneficiaries listed on insurance policies.
Changing super funds
If you move your super, you may lose the insurance that comes with the account. Moneysmart suggests checking what cover you have first.
A serious illness
Moneysmart suggests checking any policies you hold, including insurance through super, where you may have cover you weren’t aware of.
Losing a partner
When you feel ready, Moneysmart suggests reviewing your will, your super beneficiaries and your insurance policies.
The yearly notice from your insurer, and what to look for in it: reviewing cover as life changes.
“We will not discourage you from making a claim.”
Life Insurance Code of Practice, clause 5.2
One line among many. What else insurers who subscribe to the Code promise when you claim, and the timeframes they work to: making a claim.
Where to check for yourself
Every page here is written from these sources, and links to them where it uses them.
- Moneysmart
- ASIC’s plain-language guides to life cover, insurance through super, and making a claim.
- The Life Insurance Code of Practice
- The Council of Australian Life Insurers publishes the Code in full, the date the current version took effect, and the list of insurers that subscribe to it.
- Australian Taxation Office
- How super death benefits are paid, including any insurance held inside super, and who counts as a dependant.
- Australian Financial Complaints Authority
- Moneysmart describes AFCA as an independent dispute resolution scheme that considers complaints about insurance and superannuation, among others. How to get there: when something goes wrong.
