PERSONAL INSURANCE
Personal insurance provides a benefit should you become disabled, suffer an illness or injury that prevents you from earning an income, or provides a benefit to your family in the event of your death.
Automatic protection for ADF members
As a full time ADF member you have statutory (legislated) entitlements that automatically entitle you to military compensation administered by the Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation.
Decide whether your statutory entitlements are adequate to meet your needs, or whether you and your family need extra cover.
For information on your current entitlements, visit the DVA and CSC websites.
Additional cover
To work out whether you need extra cover through personal insurance, you’ll first need to understand the cover you already have; and then work out what your dependants would need each year if you could not earn an income. If there is a gap, you might want to consider additional insurance.
For information on your current entitlements, visit the DVA and CSC websites.
Visit our Superannuation page for explanations and examples of the cover provided through military superannuation (covering MSBS and DFRDB) and the ADF superannuation arrangement.
War and warlike exclusions
If you decide that you need or want extra cover, be aware that most life insurance policies contain ‘war’ and ‘war-like’ exclusions, which means cover may be void if something happens while you are on deployment or engaged in other activity defined as ‘war-like’, which may include military exercises or training in Australia. Even if no such exclusions exist, the insurer might not cover you due to the nature of your ADF duties, or you may have to have cover in place before receiving a notice of deployment.
We understand that Navy Health offers Zurich Australia’s Ezicover Life Insurance, which is free of war exclusions, but confirm this in writing before taking out a policy as the terms may change from time to time.
If you have purchased personal insurance elsewhere, seek confirmation from the insurer in writing on whether you will be covered given the nature of your employment, and under what conditions will you not be covered. You can then decide whether the policy is appropriate for your needs.
Test your knowledge
Take our short 10 question quiz to learn more about life insurance cover and some of the important things to consider before taking out any insurance. We provide links and resources you can use for further research to learn more.
Reservists
If you are a reserve member who is on duty, including continuous full-time service (CFTS), you may have superannuation arrangements outside of the ADF that include group life, invalidity or income protection insurance coverage. These may also contain war and war-like activity exclusions.
Check with your fund to find out how your service in the ADF will affect your insurance cover. If your fund (or insurer) agrees to continue to cover you whilst you are doing ADF service you should ensure that you get it in writing and inform your next of kin.
Action:
- For help in calculating your life insurance needs, use the Life insurance calculator, available on the MoneySmart website.
- If there is a gap, consider applying for additional personal cover.
