A lot of Australians have TPD insurance in their super and do not even know it. Still.
It is often tucked away inside a super account, quietly deducting premiums in the background. You may never have signed up for it directly. It may have just come with the fund when your employer started paying contributions.
It can become very important if illness or injury prevents you from working. So, the question is: how do you find out if you have TPD insurance in superannuation?
Well, here is the practical answer.
What is TPD insurance in superannuation?
TPD stands for total and permanent disability. It is insurance through super that can pay a lump sum if you become too sick or injured to work, and you satisfy the policy definition. In many super funds, TPD cover sits alongside life insurance and sometimes income protection.
That means you might already have:
- Life Insurance
- TPD Insurance
- Income Protection Insurance
all linked to your superannuation account.
The tricky bit is that many people do not realise the cover is there until they need it.
Check your superannuation statement
The easiest place to start is your latest super statement.
Look for sections called:
- insurance
- your cover
- insured benefits
- death and disability cover
- member insurance
If you have TPD insurance in your super, the statement will usually show:
- the type of insurance
- the amount of cover
- the premium being deducted
- the insurer’s name
Sometimes it will say “Death and TPD”. Sometimes it will split the covers apart. Either way, if premiums are coming out of your account, that is a strong clue you have insurance attached to the fund.
Log in to your online super account
Most superannuation funds now make this fairly easy. If you log into your member portal or app, there is usually an insurance tab showing whether you have cover now. It may also show the type of cover, the insured amount, and the premiums being deducted.
This is often the fastest way to check if you currently have TPD insurance in superannuation. But do not stop there.
A lot of claims turn on whether you had cover at the time you stopped work, not whether the cover is still active today.
Call your super fund and ask the right questions
If you want a straight answer, ring the fund. Ask them:
- Do I currently have TPD insurance on this account?
- Did I have TPD insurance in the past?
- When did the cover start?
- When did it end, if it ended?
- Who was the insurer?
- Can you send me my insurance history and policy terms?
Those questions matter because old cover can still be the cover that counts.
Plenty of people lose insurance over time because their balance dropped, contributions stopped, or the account became inactive. But if they were insured when they became unable to work, there may still be a claim worth looking at. I’ll say that again, because it’s important – If they were insured when they became unable to work, there may still be a claim worth looking at.
Check all your old super accounts
This is the part many people miss. If you have changed jobs over the years, there is a fair chance you have had more than one superannuation fund. Each of those accounts may have had its own insurance.
So do not just check your current fund. Check:
- current super accounts
- old super accounts
- rolled over accounts
- forgotten industry or retail funds
Sometimes the best TPD insurance claim is sitting in an old account the person has not looked at in years. Although, after some changes to the rules, it is becoming less likely.
Use myGov to find lost or forgotten super
If you are in Australia, myGov linked to the ATO can help you track down old super accounts. That is a good way to identify forgotten funds and then contact each one for insurance details.
If you are trying to work out whether you had TPD insurance in superannuation, this step can be very important. People are often surprised by how many old accounts they still have floating around.
Ask for the policy wording, not just the cover amount
Knowing the dollar amount of cover is useful, but it is not enough.
You also need the policy wording that applied at the relevant time.
That is because TPD insurance policies do not all use the same definition. Some focus on whether you can ever work again in any job suited to your education, training and experience. Others use different wording or have extra conditions.
So when you contact the fund, ask for:
- the policy wording
- the relevant Product Disclosure Statement (usually always called a PDS)
- the insurance guide
- the version of the policy that applied when you stopped work or became disabled
These are the documents that will tell you whether you may actually have a claim.
Signs your TPD cover may have stopped
Even if you once had TPD insurance in your super, it may no longer be active.
That can happen because of:
- low balance rules
- inactive account rules
- cancelled cover
- no recent contributions
- age limits
- rollovers or account closure
Still, the key question is not always whether the cover is active now.
The real question is: Did you have TPD insurance when your medical condition stopped you from working? That is the date that usually matters most.
Why this matters
TPD insurance claims can be significant. For some people, it is the difference between staying afloat and falling into real financial trouble after illness or injury.
The problem is that many people do not know the cover exists, or they assume they have no claim because they are no longer insured now. That assumption can be wrong.
A person may have had valid TPD insurance through superannuation at exactly the time it mattered most.
Simple checklist: how to find out if you have TPD insurance in superannuation
If you want the quick version, do this:
- Get your superannuation statement closest to the date you stopped working.
- Log into your superannuation account and check the insurance section.
- Call the super fund and ask for current and past insurance details.
- Ask for your insurance history and policy wording.
- Check every old super account, not just the one you use now.
- Use myGov and the ATO to find lost or forgotten super.
Final word
If you are wondering how to find out if you have TPD insurance in superannuation, the answer is usually not complicated. But you do need to ask the right questions and check the right accounts. And again, here is the main point: Do not just ask whether you have cover today. Ask whether you had cover when you stopped work.
That is often where the real answer sits.
There is, of course, plenty to know that is not covered here, and as the usual legal disclaimer goes, the information here is of a general nature because legal advice always depends on your circumstances.
Contact
You can call us at (03) 9969 7077 or via email at info@leonardwelch.au.
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