Income protection

We can’t see into the future, but we can prepare for the unexpected

If you suddenly couldn't work what would you do? Income protection gives you peace of mind knowing that you can still cover the bills. It's designed to replace your lost income if you can’t work. Whether you’ve become sick or injured, your income protection cover comes into play the moment you’re unable to earn.

How do I get cover?

With Vision Super Saver, our default cover, you are automatically insured for 75% of your annual salary (maximum annual salary of $128,000), up to a total of $8,000 per month. Benefits will be paid after a 60-day waiting period, for up to two years.

Tailor your cover

If the default cover doesn’t meet your needs, you can tailor your income protection cover to meet your personal requirements. You have these options:

  • Increase your cover to (a maximum of) 85% of your annual salary or $30,000 a month, whichever is less.
  • Increase the length of time you’re eligible to be paid benefits in the event of a successful claim, from two years to up to age 65.
  • Shorten your waiting period from 60 to 30 days.
  • Reduce the amount of cover, or even cancel your cover entirely, if it doesn’t suit your needs.

Are you eligible?

Generally, you have an entitlement to income protection cover when you join Vision Super Saver through full- or part-time (i.e. non-casual) employment with a participating employer if you meet the eligibility criteria – over the age of 25 years old, your Vision Super account balance is $6,000 or more and your annual salary is more than $7,999.

 

More information about Income Protection can be found in our fact sheet

Decide what’s right for you

Need to find out more. You can read about our insurance cover options, update your own cover, or use our calculators to decide what cover you need: it’s also important to note. The payment of death, TPD and/or income protection benefits is subject to the terms and conditions of the applicable insurance policy/policies. Make sure you always read the small print before taking on a policy.

Insurance calculators

Life changes, and so do your insurance needs. So over time, you might need to increase or decrease your insurance to suit your circumstances.

Use our insurance calculators to figure out how much is right for you.

Other insurance options

Death and TPD cover

Death and total & permanent disability (TPD) cover provides you and your beneficiaries with financial security if you die or become permanently disabled and can no longer work.

We're here to help

You might find the answer to your question in the FAQ below. If you don’t find it there, you can call our Member Services hotline on 1300 300 820.

Also before you make any changes to your cover please consider seeking financial advice. If you would like to speak with a Vision Super financial planner you can call 1300 300 820 to make an appointment. 

Frequently Asked Questions

If you change your employer in most instances you can request, they pay your super into your Vision Super account. Simply fill in the Choice of Fund form and hand it in to your payroll officer.

If you have to go with your employers default super fund you may be able to keep your insurance benefits with us because your insurance cover with Vision Super doesn’t necessarily cease when you change employers (provided that you satisfy the terms and conditions contained within the relevant insurance policy).

We’d encourage you to talk to us before you engage a lawyer. Vision Super pays more than 85% of insurance claims, so the likelihood is your claim will be paid if you work with us directly, and you’ll end up with more of your money. Many lawyers advertise that they’ll work for you on a ‘no win, no fee’ basis, but if your claim is approved, they may take a large chunk of your payout – it can be around 30% of an entitlement. Our insurance team is here to help you through every step of the claims process, including all the paperwork, without having to get a lawyer involved and potentially losing money you need to pay for medical treatment or maintain your lifestyle.

Call us on 1300 300 820 and we will answer any questions and send you the required information.

Yes, you can cancel your cover at any time. Any cancellation or reduction of cover will take effect from the date we receive your request or the date you specified in your request (as long as it’s after the date we receive it). If you are replacing your existing cover with an alternative cover, before cancelling we recommend that you have your replacement cover in place first. To talk to us about cancelling a policy, please call us on 1300 300 820.

If you are thinking about changing your insurance please consider seeking financial advice before making any changes to make sure it is right for you and your needs and circumstances.

 

You may be able to get cover if you have a pre-existing medical condition. You will just need to apply to remove the pre-existing condition exclusion when you join by filling in a Personal Statement. Our Insurer will review your application taking into consideration any pre-existing conditions and general health and advise if your request has been accepted.

If your application is unsuccessful,  there will be a two-year Pre-Existing Condition (PEC) exclusion on Death and TPD cover and Income Protection cover. This means that no benefit will be paid if you are totally and permanently disabled, terminally ill or die as a direct or indirect result of a pre-existing medical condition in the first two years of your insurance cover.

You can have multiple income protection policies, and there are legitimate reasons why people choose more than one product.

However, some income protection policies prevent claimants from receiving more than a certain percentage of their gross salary while off work. What that means is you could have three income protection policies that all offer payments equalling 75 per cent of your gross salary, but you wouldn’t be able to claim the full amount from all three. You would typically be limited to a combined maximum of 75 per cent across the policies.