1. How do I apply for the Allianz Life Plan?
2. What are the main types of cover available through the Allianz Life Plan?
We offer three types of cover:
- Life cover, which pays a lump sum on death or terminal illness;
- Critical Illness cover, which pays a lump sum in the event that the Life Insured suffers one of the defined Critical Illness events; and
- Permanently Unable to Work cover, which pays a lump sum if you are permanently unable to work due to sickness or injury.
Life cover is also known as Term Life insurance, or Death cover. It provides a lump sum payment in the event of the life insured’s death; or on diagnosis of a terminal illness, where death is likely to occur within 12 months.
Life insurance is a way of protecting the financial future of your loved ones if you were no longer around to provide for them. It can help your family cover debts and living expenses at a time when they need it most.
You must be between the ages of 16 and 65 to apply for Life cover. as long as you pay your premiums, we guarantee to renew your cover until your 99th birthday, regardless of changes to your health condition.
4. What is Permanently Unable to Work cover?
Permanently Unable to Work Insurance is also known as Total and Permanent Disability or Disablement (TPD) Insurance. It provides a lump sum payment in the event that you are permanently unable to work due to sickness or injury.
Permanently Unable to Work Insurance replaces income that has been lost as a result of the permanent inability to work and helps you cover debts and living expenses. You could use the benefit payment to provide for medical treatment or ongoing care or to pay for any home modifications that are required as a result of your disability.
Allianz Permanently Unable to Work cover will also pay a lump sum if the life insured suffers from a defined Major Physical Impairment such as loss of sight or hearing, regardless of your future ability to work.
You must be between the ages of 16 and 55 to apply for Permanently Unable to Work cover. Once you are accepted, as long as you pay your premiums, we guarantee to renew your cover until your 65th birthday, regardless of changes to your health condition.
5. What is Critical Illness cover?
Critical Illness Insurance, is also know as trauma cover or serious illness cover. A lump sum is paid to you in the event that you suffer a defined serious illness, such as cancer or a heart attack.
The funds can be used to pay for treatment and other medical costs, or any associated costs related to lifestyle changes (such as reducing working hours). This will help relieve your family’s financial burden at a very stressful time.
You must be between the ages of 16 and 55 to apply for Critical Illness cover. Once you are accepted, as long as you pay your premiums, we guarantee to renew your cover until your 70th birthday, regardless of changes to your health condition.
6. How much cover do I need?
How much Life, Permanently Unable to Work and Critical Illness cover you need, will vary according to your individual circumstances. In general, you should consider:
- Any other Life, Critical Illness and/or Permanently Unable to Work cover that you may have, including Life and Permanently Unable to Work insurance provided through your superannuation fund (if any);
- What you can afford;
- Whether or not you have dependants (e.g. spouse, partner and/or children) who are reliant on your income; and
- Whether or not you have a mortgage, or any other debts for which you are responsible such as credit cards and other loans.
If you are unsure about the level of cover you require, check our information on 'how much cover is enough' or speak with a financial adviser before making a decision.
7. I already have life insurance through my superannuation fund. Do I need additional life insurance?
Despite the fact that most Australians have some level of life insurance cover within their superannuation, Life insurance organisation Lifewise estimates that, on average, this is only 20% of what is needed. You should check the adequacy of this cover, as it might be less than you expect and may not meet your needs.
When determining whether or not the cover provided by your superannuation fund is sufficient you need to take into account the total benefit paid by your superannuation fund. This total may be made up of your account balance and an insured benefit or may be limited to the insured benefit only. You should also check whether or not your insurance could be continued if you were to change employers in the future. If you are unsure of the level of cover provided through your superannuation fund, you may wish to speak to the fund provider, a financial adviser or an accountant.
8. I am self-employed. Why do I need life insurance?
Self-employed people face similar needs in many instances to employed people – with a few additional challenges. Self-employed people may have business partners, personal guarantees on business loans as well as the standard mortgage, debts and dependants to consider. In addition, many self-employed people will find that their superannuation fund may not provide insurance.
If you are self-employed, and using insurance for business purposes you may also find that premiums can in some circumstances be tax-deductible (for example if you purchase the policy through your DIY superannuation fund, which you are able to do through the Allianz Life Plan). We recommend you seek advice on how life insurance can fit into your personal financial plan.
9. Who can apply for the Allianz Life Plan?
You can apply for cover if you are a holder of Australian or New Zealand Citizenship or an Australian Permanent Residency Visa and you are permanently residing within Australia at the time of your application.
You must also be between the ages of:
10. Can my partner and I take out a policy together?
Yes, up to two people can be insured on one policy. This could be you and your spouse/partner, or another person.
11. Can I add another Life Insured to my policy at a later date?
Yes, but there cannot be more than two people covered on any one policy.
12. Can I apply on behalf of another person?
No, applications cannot be made on behalf of another person.
No benefits will be paid in any circumstances where the Life Insured has not applied for the cover personally or where the application was completed on behalf of another person.
13. Is there a surrender value associated with this policy?
No, the Allianz Life Plan is not an investment product and is only designed to pay a lump sum benefit in the event of death, terminal illness or in the case of Permanently Unable to Work cover, sickness or injury. If you cancel this policy at any time other than during the cooling off period you will not get any money back.
14. Are my premiums guaranteed?
Premium rates are not guaranteed and may change from time to time. Any change, however, must apply to a group (for example all 35 year olds) and will not be made to individual policies regardless of any changes to your health, occupations or pastimes. Your premium is calculated each year based on the cover you have selected, any increase in your cover amount by way of inflation proofing and your age at that time. You will be notified in writing at least thirty days prior to any changes in premiums taking effect.
15. What type of questions are you going to ask me in order to assess my application for insurance?
We will ask you some questions about your health, lifestyle, occupation and family medical history to determine whether or not we are able to offer you cover. Once a policy has been accepted and issued, and provided your premiums are paid as due, we guarantee to renew your policy until the Policy Anniversary after your 99th birthday for Life cover; 70th birthday for Critical Illness cover and 65th birthday for Permanently Unable to Work cover.
We will not disclose your sensitive information such as details about your health for any purpose other than to underwrite your insurance cover or assess a claim.
16. Do I need a medical check up or blood test?
No medical examinations or tests are required at the time of the application. In the event of a claim, as part of our assessment process, we may require additional evidence (including medical evidence or information from your employer) or we may do a full review of your medical records. You may also be asked to undergo examinations or other reasonable tests to confirm the occurrence of an insured event, at our expense.
17. I quit smoking six months ago. Do I need to disclose this to you?
Yes. If you have smoked tobacco or any other substance in the last 12 months, then you do need to tell us when you apply for insurance.
18. How do you calculate the Allianz Life Plan premiums?
Premiums are influenced by the following factors:
- Your age
- Your gender
- Whether or not you smoke
- The cover you select
- Your state of health
- Pastimes
- Occupation (in the case of Permanently Unable to Work cover only).
- Other policies that you hold with Allianz.
Premiums are initially calculated for one year, with your first premium payable in advance.
19. How do I pay for the policy?
Premiums are payable annually or monthly (at no extra cost). This can be by Direct Debit from a Visa, Mastercard, or American Express credit card or from a bank account.
20. Can payments be made from more than one account?
No. The total monthly or annual premium can only be debited from one account or credit card.
21. Am I covered immediately?
Your cover begins on the day we accept your application for cover and the ‘commencement date’ will appear on your Policy Schedule.
22. Am I covered if I go overseas?
Yes, the Allianz Life Plan provides cover under this policy 24 hours a day for insured events that occur anywhere in the world.
However, the policy will not cover the Life Insured where they travel to or remain in a country or part of a country where an Australian government ‘reconsider your need to travel’ or ‘do not travel’ travel warning has been issued or an evacuation has been coordinated. Please see the Allianz Life Plan PDS for further details.
23. What’s my cooling off period?
You may cancel your policy within 30 days of receiving your first policy schedule, which is accompanied with a letter from us confirming your purchase of the policy. This period is known as the ‘cooling off’ period. You need to do this by writing to us and we will refund any premiums paid unless a claim has been, or can be made under the policy.
24. Can I increase my level of cover?
Once your Policy is current, you can apply to increase your cover or to add additional benefits at any time. Your application will be subject to our normal assessment process and eligibility criteria, so increases are not guaranteed.
Any cover you already have in place will be unaffected by future applications for increases, even where we decline the increase or agree to cover you subject to special terms.
To apply for an increase, please contact us on 13 1000.
25. How do I make a claim?
For all Life insurance claims, please call lus on 1300 362 108 between the hours of 8:30am and 5:30pm, Monday to Friday, and speak with a Life Claims Consultant.
Our Claims staff will ask for some details and send you a claim form to complete, sign and return to us. They will also advise you of any other supporting documentation required to assess your claim. This may include:
- a death certificate;
- a medical report or test result;
- a laboratory result; or
- any other documentation relevant to the claim
Please contact us to advise us of your intention to claim as soon as possible after an insured event has occurred.
26. Can I choose who gets the money if I die?
No, the lump sum payment will be paid to the policy owner(s) or, in the case where the policy owner and life insured are the same person, their estate.
27. Can my self managed super fund own an Allianz Life Plan policy?
Yes, a self managed super fund can be the owner of a policy. To apply for a policy in the name of your self managed super fund you will need to apply over the phone with one of our consultants. Please contact us on 13 1000 and one of our consultants will help you.
28. What happens if you have a complaint?
We have a free internal complaints resolution process and will usually respond to your complaint within 15 business days. If we are unable to resolve the complaint to your satisfaction or within 45 days (or up to 90 days if you agree), you can contact:
The Financial Ombudsman Service Limited
ABN 67 131 124 448
GPO Box 3
Melbourne VIC 3001
National
Phone: 1300 78 08 08
Facsimile: (03) 9613 6399
www.fos.org.au
The Financial Ombudsman Service is an independent complaints resolution body and its services are free of charge to complainants. Some complaints and disputes are not covered and they will tell you if this is the case.
Important note:
The insurance is issued by Allianz Australia Life Insurance Limited ABN 27 076 033 782, AFSL 296559. The information contained on this website is general information only. It does not take into account your individual objectives or financial situation. You should therefore consider the appropriateness of the insurance having regard to your objectives, financial situation and needs. Prior to making any decision you should read the
Allianz Life Plan Product Disclosure Statement and Policy Document (PDS). You should seek advice from your financial adviser before deciding on appropriate insurance cover.
