Life Insurance Advice

Protect the Life You’ve Built

Good insurance advice isn't about fear. It's about making sure that if something unexpected happens, the financial consequences don't compound an already difficult situation.

The right cover for you. Structured correctly.

Life insurance, income protection, TPD, and trauma cover are the financial safety net that sits beneath everything else we build for you. The investment portfolio, the super strategy, the retirement plan: all of it rests on the assumption that you remain healthy and able to earn. When that assumption is disrupted, good insurance cover is what prevents a health event from becoming a financial crisis.

We advise on personal insurance as part of a holistic financial plan. Our advisers research the market, identify the most appropriate cover for your situation, and manage the application and claims process with the insurer on your behalf. Because we are paid a commission by the insurer, the standard arrangement for risk insurance in Australia, there is no additional charge to you for the insurance component of our advice.

What that commission does not change is our obligation to act in your interest. We are required by law to recommend cover that is appropriate for your situation, and we take that obligation seriously. Our insurance recommendations are integrated with your overall investment and financial plan, not sold in isolation

Personal insurance: the four main types

  • Life Cover

    A lump sum paid to your nominated beneficiaries if you die. The key decisions are how much cover you need, typically assessed against your mortgage, other debts, and the income your family would need to replace, and whether it should be held inside or outside your superannuation. Both arrangements have advantages and trade-offs that we work through with you.

  • Income Protection

    A monthly benefit of typically up to 70% of your income, paid if you're unable to work due to illness or injury. For most working people, income protection is the most important insurance cover they can hold: your ability to earn is almost always your most valuable financial asset. We assess the appropriate benefit period, waiting period, and definition of disability for your occupation and circumstances.

  • Total and Permanent Disability (TPD)

    A lump sum paid if you become permanently unable to work due to illness or injury. The definition of total and permanent disability varies significantly between policies and insurers, particularly around 'own occupation' versus 'any occupation' definitions. We explain what these mean in plain English and ensure you understand exactly what you're covered for.

  • Trauma Cover

    A lump sum paid on diagnosis of a specified serious illness, including cancer, heart attack, stroke, and a range of other conditions. Trauma cover provides financial breathing room during a period when the last thing you need is financial pressure. It operates independently of whether you can return to work, which makes it a useful complement to income protection.

Insurance inside vs outside superannuation

Many Australians hold their life cover and TPD insurance inside their super fund, often without actively choosing to do so. This arrangement has genuine advantages: the premiums are paid from super rather than from take-home pay, which reduces the cash flow impact, and they're funded with pre-tax dollars.

But there are significant disadvantages too. Insurance held inside super must pass through the fund before reaching your beneficiaries, which can create delays, tax complications, and restrictions on who can receive the benefit. Trauma cover cannot be held inside super at all. And the default cover provided by many super funds, while cheap, is often inadequate for people with families, mortgages, or significant income.

We review where your insurance is held as part of every insurance engagement, and advise on the right structure for your specific situation.

Part of the plan, not an add-on

We don't approach insurance as a standalone product sale. Every insurance recommendation we make is grounded in a thorough understanding of your financial position, including your income, your assets, your liabilities, your family situation, and what you already hold.

In practice, that means we often recommend less cover than a client initially expected, because their existing assets, super balance, or partner's income means the need is lower than they thought. It also means we identify gaps that clients didn't know they had: an income protection policy that wouldn't pay out for their occupation, a life cover amount that doesn't reflect a mortgage taken out three years after the policy was last reviewed, or a trauma policy that excludes the specific conditions most relevant to their family history.

We review insurance cover for every client at every annual review. Life changes. As mortgages, families, income, and health evolve, your insurance cover should evolve with them.

The question most people haven't asked

The majority of Australians have not reviewed their personal insurance cover in the last three to five years. During that time, they may have taken on a larger mortgage, had children, changed jobs, or seen their income increase substantially. Each of these changes affects what cover is appropriate.

If you can't remember the last time you looked at your insurance, or if you've never had a proper review, now is a sensible time.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • The right amount depends on your specific situation, your income and assets, and how you want your family's financial position to look if you're no longer there. We model this in detail for every client.

  • Your insurance needs change significantly once you retire. Income protection is no longer relevant once you have stopped working. Life cover and TPD may also be reduced or allowed to lapse if your mortgage is cleared and your super provides a sufficient benefit for your partner or beneficiaries. We review every cover at the point of retirement to identify what's still needed and what can be wound back, reducing your premiums without leaving gaps.

  • We support our clients through the claims process. If you need to make a claim, we liaise with the insurer on your behalf, help you gather the required documentation, and advocate for you throughout the assessment. Insurance claims can be complex and emotionally difficult. Having someone who knows your policy and your situation manage the process with the insurer makes a meaningful difference.

  • Income protection can technically be held inside super, but it is generally more effective outside super. Inside super, premiums are paid with pre-tax dollars, which is tax-effective. However, the benefit is paid into the fund, and there may be restrictions on accessing it depending on your age and the fund's rules. Outside super, benefits are paid directly to you as a monthly income, are more flexible in structure, and typically offer broader definitions of disability.

  • Yes. For risk insurance, covering life cover, income protection, TPD, and trauma, we receive an initial and ongoing commission from the insurer when a policy is placed. This is the standard and regulated arrangement for insurance advice in Australia. We disclose this in our advice documents, and it does not change our legal obligation to recommend cover that is appropriate for your situation. There is no separate fee for the insurance component of our advice.

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