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When it comes to wealth protection for individuals and their families, the most common forms of life insurance in Australia are term life, total and permanent disability, trauma and income protection. Further information on these types of life insurance is available by using the links in the right hand navigation.

• 1 in 3 men and 1 in 4 women will be diagnosed with a cancer in the first 75 years of life.
  -Cancer in Australia 2001 - Australian Institute of Health and Welfare and Australiasian Association of Cancer Registries, 2004
• Around 1.7 million Australians aged below 65 are living with a physical disability.
  -Australia's Health 2004 - Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
• 1 in 6 men and 1 in 4 women in the workforce are expected to suffer a disability from the age of 35 to 65 that causes a loss of 6 months or more work.
  -Institute of Actuaries. Table IAD 89-83. White collar males and females.

Professional advice

Life insurance can be both complex and technical - not only are there multiple types incuding term life, TPD, trauma and income protection, but there are many insurers in Australia all offering policies with numerous and varying options and features. Moreover, life insurance is an area where it can be invaluable to have the assistance of an professional adviser who has experience with the processes and has contacts at the insurance company in the event that you need to make a life insurance claim. If you would like assistance in locating a professional adviser, please complete our contact form.

Duty of disclosure

As with other types of insurance, a statutory duty of disclosure exists for life insurance in Australia. Under the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth), before a contract of insurance is entered into the insured must disclose to the insurer any matter that may be relevant to the decision of the insurer whether to accept the risk, and on what terms. This includes matters the insured knows to be relevant, as well as matters reasonable person in the circumstances could be expected to know to be relevant. Where all relevant matters are not fully disclosed, a future claim may be refused by the insurer or the policy may be cancelled altogether.

Changing circumstances

Once a life insurance policy is set up, it should not then be viewed as static. Rather, cover should be reviewed regularly to ensure that it continues to provide adequate wealth protection. Though some policies will offer benefit indexation in line with the Consumer Price Index (CPI), any life and/or family changes - such as the birth of a new child or moving to a larger house - are likely to in turn change needs and without a regular reviews may lead to underinsurance. To increase the sum insured, it is generally necessary to complete an application for increase form which will detail any underwriting requirements.