Do you have life insurance?

All this talk of wills and such got me thinking. Do you have life insurance? Why? Why not? Is it just life insurance through your super, or is it a private policy? How much did you aim for it to cover? (Ie, all your debts, more, less???)

Hubby is insured through super. Being a SAHM, I pretty much have no super and am not eligible for cover through it. So we are currently investigating our private coverage options. Just enough to pay off the PPOR and a year or three of childcare.

 

I have a fairly comprehensive insurance package for me and the wife.

Cost almost 10k a year and we review it about once a year . It is a must if you have significant debt and a young family IMO .

The income insurance part has made me wonder though as I made a claim a few years ago after slipping a disc in my back . The hassles and trips to the doctor was hardly worth it .

I think it's a bit over cooked .

 

I have it in super. I have tried external life and IP/TPD etc after meeting a financial adviser but my vocation and hobbies mean that I am pretty much ruled out of contention.

 

I've got life and all the others (income, disability, etc)

Never thought too much about it before kids - but now it provides great peace of mind.

A decent financial planner should be able to provide you with advice.

Cheers

Jamie

 

I have life insurance through super. It is the default amount. I should review but haven't been bothered to yet.

 

I don't have life insurance. However if I passed today and my portfolio was liquidated at auction tomorrow the proceeds would cover the debt with enough for the misses organise one hell of a party.

 

Be very careful with life insurance through super funds. My understanding is that most of these policies aren't underwritten, which means they don't assess whether they'll cover you or not before taking out the policy, but when you make a claim. And a lot of people find out when they go to make a claim that they have a condition that excludes them from being covered.

When a policy is underwritten, you go for medical etc. beforehand, and the insurer decides before issuing the policy whether they'll cover you or not, and you have peace of mind that it's a useful policy for you.

With non-underwritten policies - as in most super policies - you have no idea whether it's worth anything until it's too late.

 

None. If either my wife or I die the other has more than enough to live out their life in financial comfort. If we both die, our kids will have enough of a financial leg up that more money from a life insurance policy payout would likely do more harm than good.

 

Life, TPD, trauma and IP, mix of personal and SMSF held

 

Yes we do. It's one of those things people think it's unnecessary but it's actually indispensable - especially if you own a few properties or you have a family. Super can provide a very cost effective way of getting life insurance. Check your husband's policy from time to time and see if they have an option to upgrade it. For only a few dollars extra a week/a month, you may get much more in benefits payable.

As a SAHM, you can get private coverage easily. Just go online and get some quotes from Allianz or Zurich etc.

A few years ago, my partner and I decided to upgrade the premium for his life insurance through his superfund. Just a few dollars extra that would mean hundreds of thousands of dollars extra in benefit should the worst ever happened. We joked about it believing we would never need the life insurance at all. A few months later, he passed away suddenly. No premonition, no warning, nothing.

The life insurance benefit has since been used to pay off our PPOR and an IP. It's worth having it.

 

I'm so sorry you've had this experience, but glad that it paid out. *hugs*

 

None. No debts, no dependents. I'm not going to pay for something I'm never going to use.

 

Currently have life insurance through super, but not happy with the current arrangement - am presenting reviewing and looking to get life insurance and income insurance external as well as reviewing my super account.

 

With regard to this, does the PDS mean anything? The PDS for my super life insurance policy covers eligibility criteria, levels of cover, exclusions etc. Given what you have said above, is the information provided in the PDS useful?

 

Both hubby and I have insurance through our supers ... but his is willed to his kids from his first marriage, so I also have a separate external policy for me and junior ... enough to keep us for a couple of years, and we have enough in property that I could sell a few, pay out debt and live comfortably

 

If you read all this and you're comfortable you don't fall under any exclusions, then you're probably OK. But there are lots of very common issues - taking antidepressants, taking blood pressure medication, etc. - that could cause an insurer to deny your claim if the policy hasn't been underwritten.

 

A colleague of mine has noted similar - there's some very minor things which can cause all kinds of problems, for example a lot of people are getting eligibility issues at the moment for putting in sickies under 'stress leave' and getting doctors certs to get the days off - but now have excluded coverage/limited coverage to exclude suicide etc.

 

No way. I know the details of several cases of friends and family who have been screwed over when needing to claim. (Tpd and life). Just not worth it.

In addition the time i did consider it, hobbies ruled us out of majority