Insurance Advice for you and your family
We provide advise on a diverse range of insurance solutions to protect your family from the unexpected.
With less than 4% of Adults having adequate life insurance, we aim to help protect you against insurable risks that may impact your families lifestyle now or in the future.
Personal, General and Health Insurance are a critical yet often improperly implemented tool in protecting against risks that threaten your current and future lifestyle. Having insurance is not enough. Having the right insurance is. This may mean having the right terms and conditions, structured it in the right entities for tax efficiency (both when paying the premiums and when you make a claim) and reviewing them annually to make sure they are relevant (and still necessary) is all critical. This is a core skill of Cashel House.
Examples of different types of insurance include the following:
- Life insurance pays a lump sum benefit on the death of the life insured. It provides a lump sum payment for your family to ensure the plans you had for them can be achieved in the event of your death. These policies are intended to pay out your debts (such as your mortgage), fund future education or maintenance of your children, or to provide a lump sum to replace future family income lost by an unexpected death. In addition, there is usually a payment made in the circumstance of a terminal illness.
- Total & Permanent Disablement (TPD) insurance will provide a lump sum payment should you suffer an illness or injury which totally and permanently prevents you from working again. This will help you maintain your current lifestyle whilst paying for the additional expenses that arise as a result of an ongoing illness or injury.
- Critical Illness cover or Trauma Insurance provides a lump sum benefit on diagnosis of a defined condition. Unlike TPD or Income Protection, a lump sum crisis benefit is paid immediately upon diagnosis of the defined condition. Critical Illness cover is designed to help you financially recover from a trauma or crisis, such as heart attack, cancer or a list of other threatening conditions.
- Income Protection (Salary Continuance) Insurance is designed to provide a regular income in the event that you are unable to work due to sickness or injury. Generally Income Protection insurance provides a regular monthly income during a period of disablement up to the agreed benefit period. The benefit amount payable is up to 75% of your income.
- Business protection insurance can include insurances for key employee protection, buy and sell agreements and business loan protection.
- General Insurances assist with insuring for loss or damage of property, real assets and from professional negligence or business risks, and
- Health Insurances depending on the coverage will protect you and your family against the out of pocket costs for most health and medical situations.
Your insurance needs change as your lifestyle changes
Personal insurances is not a set and forget exercise. There is times in your life you don’t need it. There is times you need to increase it, and there is times you should reduce it in order to eliminate unnecessary costs. We will assist you with this.
| Life stage | Typical Insurance Needs |
|---|---|
| Building the Base (20 to 30 year old) |
|
| Growing Career and Family (30 to 50 years old) |
|
| Building on Legacy (50 to 60 years old) |
|
| Active retirement (over 60 years old) |
|
Access the best insurance provider for you
Cashel House works with both local and international insurance providers to find risk products for your personal needs and circumstances.
Book your free personal appointment with a Cashel House insurance specialist.
Please fill in the form and we will be in contact to discuss your loan needs, or contact 03 9209 9000.
Below are some of the events you may be able to choose to be covered for under your personal insurance policy.
- If you die or are diagnosed with a terminal illness: your family receives a lump-sum payment. This is called Life Insurance.
- If you’re diagnosed with a serious critical illness such as a malignant cancer or you suffer a severe heart attack: you receive a lump-sum payment. This is called Recovery Insurance.
- If you’re permanently disabled and unable to work: you receive a lump-sum payment. This is called Total Permanent Disability (TPD).
- If you’re temporarily unable to work due to illness or injury: to receive a monthly benefit of up to 75% of your salary*. This is called Income Protection.
Most Australians have some form of life insurance through their super. The default level of cover is not based on your unique current and future financial obligations. In most cases it will not be sufficient to meet your real needs.
For example the Automatic Insurance within Cashel Superannuation Fund may not be appropriate:
- The Income Protection Insurances will not be appropriate where your monthly salary is in excess of $13,333.00. As the automatic insurance only covers you up to the lesser of $10,000 per month, or 75% of your salary.
- The Death Cover will not be appropriate for you where your combined debt’s, future costs of educating your children, costs of supporting your partner and costs of your burial exceed the limits set by your age. The limits depending on your age are set between $20,000 and $300,000
- The Total and Permanent Disablement Benefits Cover will not be appropriate where your combined debt’s, future costs of educating your children, costs of supporting your partner and the costs of supporting yourself medically for the remainder of your life exceed the limits set by your age. These limits depending on your age are set between $10,000 and $300,000
If your insurance needs are in excess of this, it is best that you talk to a Cashel House Advisor to obtain appropriate insurances and stop paying for insurances that don’t cover your needs.
You can increase and decrease your personal insurance cover at any time. Generally this will done at annual renewal points, however if you need an increase during the annual term you should contact a Cashel House Adviser. It is important that insurance is reviewed annually, if your wealth is increasing, your liabilities reduce as your children are progressing through school, you life insurance limits will also reduce. As such you won’t need to pay for the expense of some insurances.
Generally Life, TPD and Income Protection insurance held within your super fund will be a tax deductible expense. However it is often more tax effective to hold Income Protection insurance in your own personal name as it will be tax deductible against your personal income (and at your marginal tax rate, which is likely to be higher than the superannuation fund tax rate of 15%). Life and TPD insurance held directly in your own name will not be tax deductible, hence it is best to hold and be paid for for through your super fund.
You should contact your tax adviser or the Australian Tax Office for more information and advice on your particular situation.
Indexation is a way to help future-proof your insurance payment against the effect of inflation. Every year, as the cost of goods and services increase, the amount of cover will increase by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), capped at (typically) 3% for Income Protection and (typically) 5% for all others. This will help to ensure that your insurance cover has not been eroded by the effects of inflation. Your premiums will also rise in accordance with any increase in cover.
Yes, you can cancel your policy. To cancel your policy, you can speak to your Cashel House Adviser. We understand your circumstances may change, and we welcome a conversation about your needs, especially where it enables you to save money and add it to your superannuation and investment account.
Your Cashel House Advisor will work with you or your family to complete and lodge the claim forms. A Claims Manager will contact you to discuss your claim and answer any questions you have. Cashel House will be involved in this process each step of the away to negotiate and assist with obtaining the best outcome.
If you do not make a binding beneficiary nomination , the super trustee will decide who gets your benefits when you die. Usually benefits are paid to dependents, after taking your wishes into consideration. Please note that your Will does not govern what happens to your super fund unless you have a nomination and you elected your Legal Beneficial Representative using the Binding Nomination Form.
Please refer to Estate Planning and Cashel Super Frequently Asked Questions.