Insurance FAQs

If you join CareSuper as an Employee Plan member (meaning your employer pays your super contributions), you will automatically receive standard death and total & permanent disablement (TPD) cover when you:

• Receive a mandated employer contribution
• Reach an account balance of $6,000, and
• Are aged 25 or older.

Your super account must also be active (that is, you receive a contribution or transfer-in within 16 continuous months).

If you want standard cover to commence before you reach the above age and balance requirements, you can make an election at caresuper.com.au/insuranceelection.

You can take advantage of CareSuper’s New Member Options (NMOs) within the first 90 days of joining. The NMOs enable you to increase your death and TPD cover and/or apply for income protection insurance by answering a few health questions.

If you’re an Employee Plan or Personal Plan member, you can apply to increase your existing insurance cover at certain stages of your life when your circumstances have changed. You have access to a special offer to increase your existing death, TPD and income protection cover if you meet certain criteria.

For further information on what criteria and conditions apply and how it works, please refer to your Insurance Guide. You can apply by completing the Insurance application form or by logging in to MemberOnline and going to the ‘Insurance cover’ section.

If you are not linked to an employer and make your own contributions to super, you are a Personal Plan member. Personal Plan members can apply for insurance through MemberOnline or by completing and returning the relevant form.

If your employer has arranged a corporate insurance arrangement (CIA) with CareSuper, you might be entitled to a different level of cover than the Employer Plan offer.

For more information on insurance cover with CareSuper, see your relevant Insurance Guide.

You might have insurance cover in your super account if you are eligible; based on your membership type, age, and account balance.

Log in to MemberOnline to see your current insurance cover.

Under government legislation, when your employer selects a super fund for your workplace, they must choose one that provides a level of insurance cover to eligible MySuper members.

Eligible members will automatically receive standard insurance cover if their account is active and when they:

• Receive an on-time employer contribution
• Reach a balance of $6,000, and
• Turn age 25.

There are several benefits of having insurance cover through your super. These include:

• Access to group insurance rates: you’ll generally pay less for your cover than if you were to access the same type of cover outside of super
• Your insurance cover is paid directly from your super account: you won’t have to meet the cost of cover through your take-home pay and it won’t affect your weekly budget
• No need for health checks to receive automatic standard cover: if you accessed insurance outside of super, you’d need to provide health evidence and your cover may be subject to fee loadings or exclusions.

CareSuper’s insurer for death, TPD and income protection insurance is MetLife. For nearly 150 years MetLife has been helping people in times of need. Across the globe, over 100 million people trust MetLife to take care of their insurance needs, including nearly 2.7 million Australians.

CareSuper is dedicated to providing members with meaningful benefits, sustainable premiums and support when they need it most. We believe that the partnership with MetLife aligns with CareSuper’s culture and commitment to always act in the best interests of members.

An insured member under the Personal Plan who fulfils the eligibility provisions of either the Employee Plan or a Corporate insurance arrangement can apply to transfer any existing cover from the Personal Plan to the Employee Plan and vice versa.

To do this, simply complete the Member application form and the Transfer your insurance form.

To get started on your claim, call 1300 360 149 and ask to speak to our insurance team.

You can access fact sheets, find out more about what to expect during the claims process and how long it may take to process your insurance claim, at Making an insurance claim.

Income protection insurance doesn’t cover you if you lose your job. It covers you if you need to take extended time off work to recover from an injury or illness.

You can apply to change your cover in MemberOnline (if eligible) or by completing and returning the relevant form.

We provide plenty of choice when it comes to the cover types and amount of cover you have. Read more about tailoring your cover.

You can cancel some or all your insurance cover through MemberOnline or by completing and returning the relevant form.

If you decide you need insurance cover later, you’ll need to apply and provide health evidence. Any cover you receive may be subject to fee loadings or exclusions.

You can apply to transfer your death, TPD and income protection insurance from another super fund (if you’re under age 60). See your relevant Insurance Guide for more information on bringing your insurance cover across to CareSuper.

You may be able to change how much cover you have or how much you pay for it by applying to change your occupational category. You automatically go into the General occupational category when you first receive cover. If you meet the eligibility criteria for the Professional category based on your job, go to MemberOnline or use our Changing your occupational category form to change your occupational category. A request to change will be effective after acceptance, as advised to you.

To ensure your super and any insurance benefits go to the right person if you pass away, you can make a beneficiary nomination.

There are two types of beneficiary nominations: binding (lapsing and non-lapsing) and non-binding. Importantly, a non-binding beneficiary nomination will be used by the Trustee as a guide only. To nominate binding beneficiaries, use the Binding beneficiary nomination form.

For more information on making a beneficiary nomination, read the Nominating your beneficiaries fact sheet.

Members on employer-approved parental leave can request a waiver of their insurance fees for death, TPD and income protection insurance for up to 24 months (for Employee Plan members). This means, if you’re eligible, your insurance cover can continue while you’re on parental leave at no cost to you.

We’ve made it easy for new parents to apply for the insurance fee waiver. If you’d like to have your insurance fees waived while on parental leave, you can apply before or during your leave, or within 6 months of returning to work.

Yes you are covered indefinitely while you are outside Australia, subject to the conditions of the insurance policy.

Income protection benefit payments are restricted to 12 months while overseas (unless otherwise agreed in writing). You are not required to advise the Fund or insurer before you travel overseas.

Being part of a corporate insurance arrangement (CIA) means that CareSuper, along with your employer, has established insurance for you through your CareSuper membership. This insurance arrangement may differ from the standard insurance arrangements available to Employee Plan members.

Please see the CIA PDS and your relevant Insurance Guide (and Fact sheet if applicable to you) for more information about your insurance cover.

Personal Plan members can always apply for insurance cover through CareSuper. Your application will be assessed by our insurer and you’ll need to provide health evidence.

To learn how to apply for cover, see the Insurance Guide.

Your gender affects the cost of your insurance cover due to prior claim experiences between men and women. When it comes to death and TPD claims, women typically claim at a lower rate than men do. However, the opposite is true for income protection claims. To recognise this, we use gender-based pricing to ensure both our male and female members are treated fairly.

If you don’t identify as male or female please call us and we’ll discuss with you what insurance fees will apply to you.

The PMIF laws affect standard insurance cover in super.

Super funds are required to provide a certain level of insurance cover to eligible MySuper members to ensure that they’re covered for death or serious illness or injury.

PMIF laws were introduced by the Federal Government, and commenced in April 2020. They aim to protect members’ super savings from being eroded by paying for insurance that members may not need or want.

The key PMIF changes to standard insurance were:

• Prior to 1 April 2020: We provided standard insurance cover to eligible members as soon as they received their first employer contribution. The PMIF laws required that members that had less than $6,000 in their super account as at 31 March 2020 were to have their insurance cancelled from 1 April 2020 if they hadn’t advised us they wanted to keep it.
• From 1 April 2020: Eligible members will receive standard cover automatically at the latter of:
  1. Receipt of their first employer contribution (if an election to have insurance has been received by us); or
  2. Receipt of their first employer contribution, their account balance reaching $6,000, and they are 25 years or older.

Yes. Eligible members can elect to receive cover as soon as they receive an employer contribution and before they meet the above age and balance requirements.

Go to caresuper.com.au/insuranceelection to make your election or complete and return an Elect to have insurance cover form at caresuper.com.au/forms.

We’ll write to you to let you know when cover has commenced on your account.

If you lost your standard insurance cover due to these laws, it will start again if your balance reaches $6,000. This cover may be limited cover depending on when we receive an employer contribution for you.

You can always apply for new cover if you decide you need it. Go to MemberOnline or complete and return the relevant form. Any application will need to be assessed and approved by our insurer and medical evidence may be required. See your Insurance Guide for more information on tailored cover.

If your employer pays for only part of the cost of your cover provided automatically through your corporate arrangement, you may have been affected by the PMIF laws and had to let us know by 31 March 2020 if you wanted to keep your cover, or these laws required it to be cancelled effective 1 April 2020.

If your employer pays the full cost of your fees, you are not affected unless you leave the employer or your employer stops paying your fees. If at that time your account balance is under $6,000 or you’re under age 25 at that time (if you joined CareSuper on or after 1 April 2020), your cover may be cancelled.

To ensure you don’t lose your cover even if you leave this arrangement, you can make an election at caresuper.com.au/insuranceelection. By making an election, you are agreeing to the terms and conditions of the CareSuper Employee Plan. See the Insurance Guide at caresuper.com.au/insuranceguide for details.

Please contact us as soon as possible to find out up to date information about your insurance cover and the cost of cover.

If you want to keep your cover even if your account balance is less than $6,000 or you’re under age 25, you have up to 30 days after becoming responsible for the cost of cover to let us know.

If you choose to keep your cover, you not your employer, will be responsible for paying your insurance fees.

You can make an election at any time before you become responsible for the fees. Electing to keep your cover before you become responsible for the fees does not affect your rights to cancel or apply to change your insurance cover in the future.

If you haven’t elected to keep your cover at the date you become responsible for your fees, cover may be cancelled from that date if your balance has never reached $6,000 or you’re under age 25 (if you joined CareSuper on or after 1 April 2020).

If you pay the full cost of your employees’ insurance fees, they are not affected by the PMIF laws while they remain under that arrangement, and their cover will continue regardless of their super account balance.

Under these laws, we may be required to cancel their cover if they leave your employment or you stop paying their fees, and if at that time:

• They have a balance less than $6,000, or
• If they joined CareSuper on or after 1 April 2020, they’re under age 25.

Please let us know as soon as possible once an employee becomes responsible for their fees.

If you have questions, speak to your client partnership manager who is there to support you and your employees.

Under the laws, we’re to cancel your insurance cover if your account becomes ‘inactive’ (i.e. we haven’t received a super contribution or transfer-in for you for at least 16 consecutive months).

You can prevent your cover being cancelled if you complete and return a Keep or cancel my cover form before your account becomes inactive for 16 continuous months. Once you’ve let us know you’d like to keep your insurance, it won’t be cancelled – even if your account stays inactive – if you have enough money in your account to maintain the cover and your cover isn’t cancelled for another reason under our policy.

Alternatively, you can keep your cover by contributing or rolling super into your CareSuper account before your account becomes inactive.

If you’re an employee plan member we will reinstate your cover automatically when your account receives an employer contribution. The amount of cover reinstated will be the standard cover applicable at the time of reinstatement and may differ from the amount you had previously and in some circumstances the reinstated cover may be limited. All details are included in your Insurance Guide.

You can also request to have your cover reinstated without needing to wait for an employer contribution if you complete the Reinstate your cover form within 2 months of your cover lapsing, you will need to have an account balance of at least $500 and your cover will be reinstated to your previous amounts. In some circumstances the reinstated cover may be limited. All details are included in your Insurance Guide.

If you’re a member of a corporate insurance arrangement you may also be able to have your cover reinstated, please see your Insurance Guide for details.
 

Your super account may be identified as an inactive low-balance account if it:

• Has a balance less than $6000
• Doesn’t have insurance, and
• Hasn’t received any contributions or rollovers for 16 consecutive months.

It may be transferred to the ATO under the PYS laws if, at 30 June and 31 December each year, if the above is true AND you haven’t:

• Changed your insurance or investment options or added or changed any binding beneficiaries within the last 16 months, or
• Informed us that your account is not an inactive low balance account and you’d like it to stay with CareSuper.

If you have death, TPD or income protection cover with us, the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) pandemic declaration didn’t affect your cover.

You will be covered in the event of death, total and permanent disablement, or illness or injury if you meet the eligibility criteria and other conditions as at that time.

If you meet the usual eligibility claim requirements and have an inability to work due to illness or injury and you are stood down (as defined under the Fair Work Act), you’re considered by our insurer to be on leave without pay. Generally, any benefits would commence after the leave without pay period, however if you’re stood down due to COVID-19, our insurer will disregard this standard condition and benefits will commence at the end of your waiting period. For more information, please see the Making an income protection claim fact sheet.

Minimum work hour requirements will still apply, and any benefits payable will be based on average income for the previous twelve months prior to the date of disablement.

Provided you met the eligibility terms and conditions of cover at the time your TPD cover commenced, there will be no change to your eligibility or TPD benefits if you’re not working or your work hours have reduced.

You can always apply for extra cover. Your application will be assessed by our insurer and you’ll need to provide health evidence.

The insurer will wait at least three months to make a decision. You’ll need to receive a clean bill of health from your doctor, confirming you are free from illness and symptoms and have no ongoing respiratory conditions.

Your insured benefit is reviewed once a year based on your salary at the time of your employer’s review date. Changes in salary aren’t reviewed between this one-year period. If you’re concerned about a potential change to your insured benefit, please contact us.

If you have income protection cover any benefits payable will be based on your average income for the previous twelve months prior to the date of disablement, up to the maximum of your sum insured.

If you withdrew all your super with us during the early release measure, your super account would have closed and you would have lost your insurance cover.

If you received a new employer contribution after this, we would have opened a new account for you and you’ll receive standard insurance if you meet the eligibility criteria, as outlined in the Insurance Guide relevant to you. This criteria may be different to when you last received standard cover with us, and the cover you receive may be limited cover. Please note you will not be able to get any additional cover back (i.e. other cover you’d previously been accepted for with us, or cover you’d transferred from another fund).

You can check how much cover you have in MemberOnline or by contacting us.

There are no changes to how insurance claims are assessed.

If you’re having trouble making a claim, please contact us. If you have a claim in progress and have any questions about it, please contact our dedicated claims team on 1300 090 925.

There are no special conditions around insurance cover for new members due to COVID-19. New members will receive standard cover as outlined in their Insurance Guide, if they meet the eligibility criteria.

Eligible members can still apply to increase their standard cover under the New Member Options. Cover is subject to standard terms and conditions.