Superannuation & Insurance Claims Lawyers

Superannuation Claims

Are you unable to work due to illness or disability? You may be entitled to compensation benefits through your superannuation, life insurance or other insurance policies.

You may be able to claim:

• Total and Permanent Disability (TPD)
• Income protection; and/or
• Life insurance or death benefits

You may not realise that this insurance is attached to your superannuation. Your superannuation statement (which you should receive annually from your fund), will tell you if you have insurance or not; either TPD insurance, death benefits and/or income protection. If you are not sure where to look, we can help.

If you are making a claim on your insurance with super, that claim will relate to the policy you had in place at the time you last worked. For example:

• You have let your insurance in super lapse to save money;
• You were injured three years ago and stopped work due to that injury;
• You did have TPD insurance in your super three years ago;
• You can lodge a TPD claim against the insurance cover you had three years ago.

It is important to understand that the insurance which is attached to your superannuation is separate and apart from your hard-earned accrued superannuation savings.

How do superannuation and disability insurance claims work?

If you suffer from an illness, have sustained an injury or now live with a disability you may be entitled to claim on this insurance. The injury or illness does not have to be work-related and can be, in some circumstances, in addition to any WorkCover compensation or TAC compensation you receive.

The amount of insurance attached to your superannuation is different for every person. It will depend upon your policy and the amount of insurance you elected to have in place at the commencement of your policy and any changes to the amount of units/cover you made after commencement.

The amount of cover you have in place as at your last day of work will be the applicable insurance cover. You may also be able to claim on multiple policies.

TPD insurance claims can be complex and time-consuming. Using a lawyer who is familiar in dealing with superannuation funds and insurance companies means that your claim is prepared properly, with attention detail, providing the super fund/insurer with all supporting documentation.

We often prepare and collate your claim during the waiting period, so your claim has the best chance of success from the first available opportunity. We take the time to listen and learn about how your injury/illness has impacted your life and work hard to get the best possible outcome for you.

Compensation benefits available

You may be entitled to the following compensation benefits:

• A monthly income payment (income protection claims);
• A lump-sum payment for total and permanent disability (TPD claim) from one or more super funds;
• Payment of a terminal illness lump sum.

You may be able to access benefits even if you are in receipt of Workcover payments or compensation as a result of a road accident.

Your compensation payment doesn’t come from your accrued superannuation fund balance

Worried about eating into your retirement funds? We have good news.

The money you receive for an injury or illness does not come from the funds you’ve accumulated for retirement.

The benefit comes from a separate insurance policy that’s attached to your superannuation fund. This means you don’t need to worry about your hard-earned nest-egg.

Significant changes were made to insurance within superannuation which came into effect from 1 April 2020. If you’re concerned about your TPD insurance cover in your super, we can look at your policy and help you determine if you’re covered or not.

It’s also important to note that any lump sum benefit available to you is determined at the date you last worked, not the date you lodge your claim. This is important because if your insurance was cut off in April 2020 (due to changes to superannuation law), you may still be entitled to claim if you had insurance at the time you ceased working.

Contact us to make sure you understand all your super insurance entitlements – it costs you nothing to find out.