What is insurance in super?
INSURANCE
Insurance through your super is designed to protect your most valuable asset—yourself. That’s why having the right cover is crucial when it comes to a secure financial future. Most of all, it’s about providing for you and your loved ones when it’s needed the most.
Benefits
Benefits of insurance through super
Most super funds, like the Russell Investments Master Trust, offer insurance within your super. This means your super account comes with a default insurance arrangement that you can adapt, based on your personal circumstances and life stage. Here’s what great about it.
People power
With group insurance, we use the people power of our members to negotiate competitive prices for quality insurance benefits on your behalf.
Easy to pay
Insurance fees are usually deducted from your super balance or could even be paid by your employer.
Easier to get cover
You may have an automatic level of cover available, which means you won’t need a health check.
Tax effective
Insurance fees that come from your super account can effectively be coming from your pre-tax income, which could be a cost saving to paying for insurance fees outside super with your after-tax income.
options
Insurance options within super
Most super funds, like the Russell Investments Master Trust, offer insurance within your super. This means your super account comes with a default insurance arrangement that you can adapt, based on your personal circumstances and life stage. Here’s what great about it.
Death cover
Pays a lump sum in the event of your death or the diagnosis of a terminal illness.
Total and Permanent Disablement (TPD) cover
Pays a lump sum if you become totally and permanently disabled and are unlikely to ever work again in a job you’re reasonably qualified for by education, training and experience.
Income Protection cover
Provides a replacement income (generally a percentage of your current income), if you are unable to work due to illness or injury. You may also know this as ‘Salary continuance insurance’.
If eligible, you may receive automatic insurance cover (note that the type and level of automatic cover varies), and you may also be able to apply for increased cover or a type of cover that you don't already hold. You can cancel your cover at any time.
To protect account balances (if your insurance fees are paid via deductions from your super account rather than by your employer):
- automatic cover will not be turned on for an eligible member, until they're 25 years old and have a super account balance of at least $6,000; and
- insured cover will be turned off if there has been no contribution or rollover coming into their super account for 16 months.
Eligible members can ‘opt-in’ to turn on insurance cover before they turn 25 years old, if their super account balance is at least $6,000. They can also ‘opt in’ to retain insurance cover, even if a contribution or rollover has not been received into their super account in 16 months.
Minimum balance policy does apply to some products within the fund. Currently, the fund has a minimum balance of $6,000.
LEVEL OF COVER
Check your current level of insurance cover
- Log in online and click on ‘Insurance’ in the top menu to check your current level of insurance cover with us and to view other insurance details.
- Download our Super Tracker App on the App Store or on Google Play, and select Insurance > Insurance cover.
CHANGE COVER
Want to make a change to your insurance cover?
Maybe you’ve had a change in relationship status, had a baby, moved house or taken up a more risk-prone job. Maybe you’ve had a milestone birthday or you just retired!
Whichever way, there are times in life when you may want to take another look at your insurance cover and make changes to reflect where you are now.
You can apply to increase or decrease your insurance cover, apply for Income Protection cover (if you don’t have it) or even cancel your cover. To take any one of these actions, please log in to your online member account, and download, complete and return the Request for Insurance Form in the ‘Resources’ section.
We also offer personal phone-based advice, at no cost, to help you find out the types and level of insurance cover you need.
Insurance Request Form – iQ Super – Employer