Income Protection Insurance

If you have income protection cover, and you suffer an illness or injury which results in your inability to work, after your waiting period you will receive monthly payments to replace some of your income. The maximum period for which you may receive benefits depends on the benefit period you choose.

Depending on your situation, you may also receive financial support to assist with rehabilitation and retraining services to help you get back to work.

• The amount you pay for cover (your annual or monthly premium) will depend on a variety of individual factors based on your personal circumstances and lifestyle. These include your age, gender, occupation, whether or not you smoke and your level of cover. NobleOak will also need to understand your medical history and lifestyle (such as sports or hobbies) before we can confirm the premium you will be required to pay.
• Once you apply, our underwriting team will assess your application, and we may need to contact you for more information if your personal situation requires any premium loadings, or exclusions for certain medical conditions.
• The best way to get an estimate of what Income Protection cover may cost is to complete an online quote. You can get an income protection insurance quote now with NobleOak in under two minutes.

When deciding how much cover you need, you may wish to think about how much your bills and living expenses cost you each month.

Some of the questions to consider include:

• Do you have debts such as a mortgage, a car loan or credit card instalments?
• Do you have dependants, and associated costs such as childcare or school fees?
• Can you supplement your income with any savings you may have and manage on a lower monthly benefit for a certain period of time, or should you opt for the maximum monthly benefit you are eligible for?

With NobleOak’s Income Protection Insurance, you can choose cover of up to 70% of your regular pre-tax income (subject to some limitations), up to a maximum of $30,000 per month.

Income protection premiums are generally tax deductible. Any benefits received from NobleOak’s Income Protection Insurance are paid gross and are usually included in your assessable income. Ask your tax professional to see if this applies to you.

Income protection insurance is available to you if you are self-employed (subject to our standard underwriting assessment).

It is important to be aware that income protection insurance does not cover employment termination. If your employer terminates your employment or you are made redundant, you will not be eligible to claim on your income protection insurance.

Benefits will also not be payable by us if your Sickness or Injury is a result of, or related to:

• Normal and uncomplicated pregnancy, miscarriage or childbirth;
• Your participation in criminal activity or your incarceration;
• Self-inflicted injury or attempted suicide (for the first 13 months of cover);
• A permanent or temporary banning, deregistration, disqualification or restriction being placed on you from performing all or some of the duties of your Regular Occupation;
• War or an act of war;
• Any Sickness or Injury that occurred before your insurance commencement date, unless clearly disclosed to and accepted by NobleOak.

The full list of exclusions and limitations for NobleOak’s Income Protection cover can also be found on page 27 of the NobleOak Premium Life Direct PDS.

Whilst on claim with NobleOak, you will have access to a dedicated Australian based claims consultant who will work with you to help you return to work.

You may also be entitled to a Recovery at Work Benefit, which provides for payment of up to 12 times your monthly benefit towards the costs of special equipment or support to assist you back to work.

If you are unable to return to your regular occupation, we may support your re-training costs to help you

If you become unemployed or need to take extended leave from employment because of full time study, maternity/paternity leave or compassionate leave you can ask us to pause your income protection premiums for up to 12 months. The premium pause is available once your cover has been in place for more than 24 months. When you pause your premium, your cover is also suspended so you would not be eligible to make a claim during this period.

After receiving a benefit for Total or Partial Disablement for 12 consecutive months, your monthly benefit will automatically increase each year in line with the Consumer Price Index (CPI). When payments cease, the benefit will revert to the monthly benefit shown on your benefit notice at the time of your claim.

You may receive a reduced benefit if you return to work in a reduced capacity but are unable to work more than 32 hours per week. You will need to be following the advice of a medical practitioner and agreed rehabilitation plan and working to your full medical capacity.

If you return to work for less than six months after receiving your most recent Total Disablement or Partial Disablement benefit and suffer a recurrence from the same or related cause, the claim will be treated as a continuation of the original claim so no new waiting period will apply.

Above is a summary of only some of the features and benefits available through NobleOak’s Income Protection cover. To find out more, read the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) which sets out the standard terms, conditions, limits, definitions, exclusions, waiting periods, exclusion periods and information about taking a combination of cover. Policies, terms and conditions vary between insurance providers so always read the PDS and compare covers before you apply for income protection to consider what is right for you.