Coronavirus (COVID-19) is at the tip of everyone’s tongue as we all keep a close eye on this developing situation. We are receiving a number of enquiries from concerned clients regarding whether they will be covered by their life insurance, income protection, TPD insurance and trauma insurance.
Most high quality retail insurance products have no exclusion or restrictions relating to COVID-19 or any other pandemic. They will provide you with cover 24/7, anywhere in the world. As a result, if you are a client of ours, you will typically not have any issue lodging a claim related to Coronavirus. However, policy terms do differ from client to client which makes it important that you do get in touch to clarify.
Are you covered?
Income Protection – in order to initiate a claim on income protection insurance, you will need to have satisfied the waiting period requirements. This typically means that you need to be unable to work, due to your own illness or injury for the duration of the waiting period. The most common waiting periods in Australia are 30 and 90 days. Given the waiting period requirement, as well as the recovery timeframes that have been discussed to date, it is highly unlikely that you will be eligible to claim on income protection for time off work due to coronavirus. In addition to this, government or employer mandated time off (such as self-isolation or quarantine) would be deemed a preventative measure and not time off work due to you suffering from the illness personally.
TPD Insurance – You will need to be rendered disabled to the extent that two doctors advise that it is unlikely you will ever return to work again. Given that the vast majority of Coronavirus cases have been transient, we don’t envisage many claimants.
Life Insurance – Life Insurance provides you with a lump sum in the event of you passing away. If you are a client of ours and have a comprehensive life insurance policy, you will likely be covered in the event of premature passing as a result of COVID-19. If you or a loved one finds yourself asking this questions, please get in touch so we can guide you further.
If you are in doubt, please get in touch with our office or consult the relevant Product Disclosure Statement. Exclusions relating to pandemics and acts of god are generally contained within.
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.