Group Income Protection and Life Insurance
Protect, attract and retain your staff with leading employee benefits
Since 2006 Curo Financial Services has provided bespoke advice and solutions to corporate clients in a wide variety of industries. Our history and track record in this space has resulted in us being the trusted insurance adviser to thousands of Australian’s.
Group Life and Salary Continuance (Income Protection) Insurance offers employers the ability to offer staff, employees, working directors and other members of an organisation access to insurance that may well be otherwise unobtainable. With many Australian’s unable excluded from Life Insurance or Income Protection due to pre-existing medical conditions, group insurance can provide your staff or members invaluable protection. Group Salary Continuance cover can be negotiated and customised to fit the needs of your organisation. Leveraging economies of scale, you may well be able to secure a group insurance policy with terms and pricing that are more favourable than if an individual was looking to acquire an insurance product seperately. With more emphasis being placed on employers efforts to retain and nurture their staff, there is no better way to show them that you care about their welfare and well-being than by offering them a group insurance plan.
Group Salary Continuance and Life Insurance products are inherently complicated and the guidance of a financial adviser can be invaluable to you and your members. Providing those that are insured with a point of contact to provide claims and administrative assistance will allow for your members to have peace of mind that they will be looked after.
Speaking with an experienced adviser is the first step in securing the financial future of your staff.
Why choose Curo Financial Services?
At Curo we treat the insurance of every client, whether they are an individual or a corporate, as though it belonged to a loved one. This attitude results in us providing a level of service and care for detail that is industry leading.
We take the time to understand your business and what you are hoping to achieve by offering group insurance. This allows us to design a product that meets your objectives, avoiding a one size fits all approach. The complex nature of these products makes the customisation process all the more important as a typical product may have features that are redundant to the needs of your business. Or, conversely, your business may have a unique set of risks that are not accounted for in traditional group insurance.
We take the pain out of the process and limit the administrative burden to you wherever possible. We will be the point of contact for your business and your staff, providing you with access to any information you may require without having to speak directly to the insurer. Further, we pride ourselves on our claims management process and the value we add to claimants in the process. Our claims management team handle claims from beginning to end, freeing up time for you and your staff to focus on getting back on their feet. With our industry leading service and administration offering, you can rely that we will be there for your staff when they need us most.
What is Group Income Protection and Salary Continuance Insurance?
Staff are the lifeblood of every business and providing additional benefits to staff is more important than ever before. When staff are unable to work due to illness or injury, their sick leave can only take them so far. Often an uncomfortable situation arises whereby ones sick leave is exhausted and the company is faced with a moral question of whether they continue to provide the employee with financial support. How can you repay your loyal staff? Group Income Protection (Group Salary Continuance) deals with this effectively.
- Replace the income of an employee when they are unable to work due to an accident or illness.
- Provide them with this protection whether they are at work, at home, on the weekend or overseas.
- Relieve the moral burden of supporting staff who may have exhausted their sick leave benefits yet are unable to return to work at their full capacity.
- Many of your staff may struggle to obtain this protection through traditional means due to their health or occupation. Using your buying power as a ‘group’ can be leveraged to get cover for your staff that they haven’t been able to obtain themselves.
- The premiums paid are deductible to the business and will often not attract and form of Fringe Benefits Tax.
Types of Group Insurance
Typically, the main types of group insurance are: Group Life Insurance, Group Salary Continuance Insurance (Group Income Protection) and Group Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) Insurance.
- Group Life Insurance will generally pay you a lump sum should the insured pass away or become terminally ill.
- Group Income Protection Insurance and Group Salary Continuance Insurance will typically pay you up to 75% of your income should you be unable to work due to illness or injury.
- Group TPD Insurance is generally offered with an Any Occupation definition, meaning that, in order to claim successfully, you would need to be unable to work, due to accident or illness, in any occupation for which you are suited to by training, education or experience.
Group Insurance vs Individual Insurance
There are two main types of insurance: group and individual. Group insurance is a policy that is purchased by an employer or super fund and and covers all employees/members. Individual insurance is a policy that is purchased by an individual and covers only that person.
Group insurance is usually less expensive than individual insurance. This is because the group policy is purchased in bulk and the insurance company spreads the risk over a larger pool of people.
For smaller groups and employers of less than 20 people, there are limited group options available. It is important to seek advice as there are still options however they will differ to what is available to a larger group.
Underwriting
An important factor to consider when comparing group and individual insurance is underwriting. Underwriting is the process that insurance companies use to decide whether to accept or decline a policy application.
Group insurance is usually “guaranteed issue”, which means that everyone who is eligible for the policy is automatically accepted. Individual insurance is usually “medically underwritten”, which means that the insurance company will assess your medical history and may decline your application based on your medical history. Group policies may also have restrictions with respect to medical issues that were present prior to the policy being established and prevent you from making a claim for said issues. As a result, it is crucial for employees and members of super funds to understand the policy terms that apply to them when making this decision.
Cost
As mentioned earlier, group insurance is typically less expensive than individual insurance. The price of the premium is set at the time the policy is established and is based on the age, health and gender of the employees/members. This means that the premium will not increase if the health of the employees/members deteriorates however the premiums will likely increase with your age. At the same time, group insurance policies are typically only guaranteed to be renewed for a short, fixed, period of time (often 3 or 5 years). This means that the policy may be cancelled by the insurer after this period of time, leaving you with uncertainty as to whether you will remain to be covered.
Individual insurance policies are typically guaranteed to be renewable which means that the insurer guarantees that they will renew your cover should you pay the premium. The vast majority of individual insurance policies have premiums that can be changed by the insurer. The insurer will typically seek to increase rates should they have a poor experience with claims and investment markets.
Group Insurance Eligibility Criteria
The eligibility requirements vary from insurer to insurer with some accepting groups as small as 20 people whilst others require in excess of 100. Group insurance plans require extensive negotiations with the insurance company as a means of guaranteeing that you and your company receive the greatest value. Finding the group insurer that is best for your business or organisation is one of the main roles of an adviser and it is an area where relevant expertise can add tremendous value.
There are a number of insurance companies in Australia that offer Group Life Insurance and Group Salary Continuance (Income Protection). Each insurer offers distinct benefits and has a preferred demographic when it comes to providing such cover. As a result, the role of an adviser is amplified given the variances in the market.
To see how you can offer your staff the ability to protect their lifestyle and loved ones, get in touch with us today!
General Advice Disclaimer
General advice warning: The advice provided is general advice only and in preparing it we did not take into account your investment objectives, financial situation or particular needs. Before making an investment decision on the basis of this advice, you should consider how appropriate the advice is to your particular investment needs, and objectives. You should also consider the relevant Product Disclosure Statement before making any decision relating to a financial product.
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