Life Insurance

When determining how much life insurance you may need, it is important to think about:

• Your current debt – i.e. your mortgage, personal loans and credit cards
• The number of dependants you have
• Your current income
• Future education expenses for your children – i.e. school and university fees
• Ongoing household expenses, including utility bills, groceries and insurances
• Lifestyle costs – sport and music lessons, birthdays, and holidays
• Childcare and home assistance – if you or your spouse are a stay-at-home parent, you may need to cover the cost of home help to help look after the children and manage running the household

You can use our life insurance calculator to estimate your life insurance needs

As an adult there is generally no bad time to apply for cover. The truth is, other than a small number of exceptions, the younger you are when you take out insurance, the less you will pay.

Often people consider life insurance along with significant life changes such as getting married, buying a home, and taking out a mortgage, starting a family or approaching retirement.

Whatever life stage you are at, life insurance may be an important consideration, helping provide financial protection for your loved ones if you were to pass away.

A premium is the regular payment you make to ensure your policy remains in-force and you are protected in the event of a claim.

NobleOak’s range of life insurance products only offer variable age-stepped premiums. This means your premium will be based on your age when you apply for cover, and then will generally increase each year at the policy anniversary as your age increases.

Under variable age-stepped premiums, premium rates will generally increase with age, as the probability of making a claim generally increases as you get older. This means the premium you will need to pay for the same level of cover will increase as you get older.

Term life insurance provides coverage for a specific period (term) and pays out a death benefit if the insured person passes away during that term. With NobleOak Life Insurance, you can maintain your cover up until the age of 99.

The most suitable age or life stage to buy life insurance can vary depending on your individual objectives, financial situation and needs. However, there are some general guidelines that can help you determine when it might be a good time to purchase life insurance:

When you’re young and healthy: Life insurance premiums are typically lower when you are young and in good health. Buying a policy early may result in lower rates for the duration of the policy, as you won’t be re-underwritten for later health issues.

When you have dependents: If you have a spouse, children, or other dependents who rely on your income to cover their living expenses, it is a good idea to consider life insurance. This helps provide financial support for your loved ones in case of your untimely death.

When you have debt: If you have significant debts, such as a mortgage, student loans, or credit card debt, life insurance can help cover those debts, so they do not become a burden on your family if you pass away.

When you want to leave a legacy: If you want to leave an inheritance or financial legacy to your loved ones or a charity, life insurance can help ensure that your beneficiaries receive a tax-free payout upon your death.

When you want to cover final expenses: Even if you do not have dependents, life insurance can help cover your funeral and burial expenses, relieving your family of this financial burden.

It is important to assess your specific objectives, financial situation, goals, and responsibilities to determine the best time to buy life insurance. Your life insurance needs can also change over time, so it is a good practice to periodically review and adjust your coverage as your circumstances evolve.

Life insurance (death) payouts can be tax free, particularly when they are paid to someone who is dependent on you, such as children under the age of eighteen. Trauma (critical illness) insurance and total and permanent disability (TPD) insurance benefits are also typically paid tax free.

However, claim payouts made under income protection insurance are typically taxed.

This is NobleOak’s current understanding of the general tax treatment of life insurance, TPD and income protection benefits. You should seek specific advice from a tax professional to understand whether this applies to you.

When naming an insurance beneficiary, you will need to check your policy to establish who counts as a financial dependant. Spouses are commonly accepted, but there are more restrictions around children over the age of eighteen, who are often not regarded as financial dependants when it comes to receiving a lump sum and therefore may be taxed. If life insurance is purchased through a superannuation fund, the benefits will be paid to the trustee.

These products are mentioned above and include income protection, TPD insurance and trauma (Critical illness) insurance. Choosing the right life insurance product depends on your individual needs, financial situation, and priorities. Each type of insurance serves a different purpose, so it is important to understand the features and benefits of each to determine which ones align with your needs and goals. Here’s a brief overview of each:

• Income protection insurance pays a monthly benefit if you become ill or injured and can’t work because of that illness or injury.

Useful for: Helping to manage living expenses and medical costs.

• TPD insurance is a lump sum payment if you become permanently disabled as a result of a sickness or injury and are unable to work again.

Useful for: Helping to manage living expenses, medical costs, and any necessary modifications to your home in the event of a severe disability.

• Trauma insurance provides a lump sum payment if you are diagnosed with a specified serious medical condition.

Useful for: Providing financial support to cover medical expenses, debt repayments, or lifestyle adjustments during a critical illness.

It may also be helpful to visit a comparison site such as Canstar or Finder to be able to compare various life insurance policies and further determine what suits your requirements before you take the next step.

Once issued, NobleOak insurance cover is provided for worldwide travel and residence 24-hours a day, subject to any special terms and conditions NobleOak may apply at the time of acceptance.

So whether you are heading on the trip of a lifetime or moving overseas, provided your cover remains in-force you can travel with peace of mind.

Before you jet off into the sunset, you should always check with your insurer as additional conditions may apply to your cover.

Countries excluded from cover

Some countries are excluded from cover mainly due to political unrest, war or natural disaster. As these are subject to change we recommend that you always check with your insurer before travelling overseas to make sure you are covered.

If you choose to 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, you may not be covered. Again, it is recommended you check with your insurer if this occurs whilst travelling.

Other exclusions unique to you

In rare cases, travel exclusions may apply based on your individual circumstances. If this is the case, they will be determined during the initial application process and agreed with you.

Remember, always check current travel advice

The Australian Government recommends all travelers check current travel advice, which it maintains for more than 170 destinations on the Smartraveller website.

The advisories highlight potential threats to security, safety and health that you could face at your destination, and counsel on local laws that may differ from those at home. To ensure you are protected, we recommend that you still check with your insurer before travelling overseas to make sure you are covered, even to low risk destinations.

Make sure your Insurance is up to date

Travel to even the safest destination can be risky, so it is a good idea to have your affairs in order before you go. Life Cover can help to provide financial security for your loved ones in the event of your death.

Income Protection Insurance can help you to cover the costs of living if you are unable to work due to illness or injury. For Australian workers heading overseas to work, provided your cover remains in-force, you will be eligible for Income Protection benefits.

However, in the event of an Income Protection claim there may be additional requirements and conditions should you be working overseas. If you are moving overseas for work, either temporarily or for an extended period, we recommend you check with your insurer what additional requirements may be placed on your cover.

Life Cover is intended to provide financial security to the loved ones left behind in the event of sudden and unexpected death. But what happens if that death occurs due to a suicide? Will the policy pay out, or will the insurance cover be voided?

Although you will hopefully never need to use this information, it is important that you understand your rights and obligations should you ever lose a loved one to self-harm and then need to make a claim on their life insurance.

How it works

A life insurance policy will generally not pay out for a suicide that occurs within 13 months after the inception of the cover. This is to safeguard the life insurer where the life insured may have taken out cover with the sole intention of committing an act of self-harm.

The insurer may also need to review the life insured’s full medical history in some instances to check if there were any significant mental health issues in the past which the life insured may not have disclosed at the time of underwriting. Failure to disclose all relevant information to the insurer could possibly necessitate a claim being denied if these details were considered to have been a material factor in the death.

It’s important to be aware that if the life insured has changed insurers, or increased their level of Life Insurance cover, the 13 month suicide exclusion period may be applicable either to the full cover or the increased portion of the cover.

NobleOak’s policy on suicide

NobleOak’s Life Insurance excludes death by suicide only for the first 13 months after the cover originally commenced, or for 13 months for the increased portion of any cover.

After this 13 month period has expired, if the life insured’s death was confirmed as having been caused by their own hand, we will not void the cover and we will generally look to pay the claim subject to our normal claims review procedures.

Australian residents between the ages of 16-69 can choose an amount of cover from $50,000 up to $25m in life insurance cover. If you are between the ages of 70-74, you can still apply for up to $500,000 in life cover.

You can fix the cost of your insurance cover at any time by writing to us with a request to freeze the premium amount. This means that your future premiums will be fixed at the amount you were paying on the date of notification. This means that your future premiums will be frozen at the amount you were paying on the date you notified us and your cover amount will be adjusted accordingly each year. You can ask us at any time to end the Premium Freeze Benefit and the freeze will end on the next anniversary of your cover.

We’ll reimburse the cost of grief counselling services for you or your Immediate Family Member, up to $1,000, if we pay a benefit for death or terminal illness. You or your family must send us suitable evidence of the paid invoices within 12 months of the claim payment. The service provider must be appropriately qualified and registered to provide grief counselling services. This benefit is payable once only.

We’ll reimburse the cost of you or your spouse/partner engaging a licensed financial adviser, up to $5,000, to prepare a financial plan if we pay a benefit of more than $200,000 for death or terminal illness. You must send us suitable evidence of paid invoices within 12 months of the claim payment. The financial adviser must be operating under an appropriate Australian Financial Services License. This benefit is payable once only.

If you become terminally ill, NobleOak will advance the death benefit lump sum, where death is likely to occur within 24 months. To be eligible for this payment: You must be diagnosed as being terminally ill by two Medical Practitioners, one of whom is a specialist practising in an area related to the illness or injury suffered by you; and their joint or separate diagnoses certify that you are suffering from an illness, or have incurred an injury, that is likely to result in death within 24 months of their certification.