From 21 February 2021, there will be changes to insurance in Essential Super. Our insurer has advised us that they will increasing the insurance premium rates. There will also be some improvements made to insurance terms and conditions, including fewer exclusions if you need to make a claim.
You will receive a letter from us in the first few weeks of December 2020, which contains important information about your new premium amount for your insurance cover and outlining the changes to insurance terms and conditions.
You should:
If you’re unsure about what you should do, a financial adviser can help you work out what insurance cover is right for you.
You can cancel or reduce your insurance cover in NetBank at any time, however before cancelling or reducing your cover it’s important that you consider what this means for your financial wellbeing.
From 21 February 2021, there will be changes to insurance in Essential Super. Our insurer has advised us that they will be increasing the insurance premium rates.
There will also be some improvements made to insurance terms and conditions, including fewer exclusions if you need to make a claim.
We’ve negotiated with the insurer the following improvements to the terms and conditions of your insurance that will apply to claim events which occur from 21 February 2021.
Effective 21 February 2021, the following improvements will be made.
Improved TPD cover
The restrictive Activities of Daily Living part of the TPD (Total and Permanent Disablement) definition will be removed if you need to make a claim for events which occur from 21 February 2021.
In the event of a claim, the Activities of Daily Living definition currently applies if the insured members is working less than 15 hours per week on average (or were unemployed) at the time of disability.
Removing some exclusions
These exclusions will be removed:
Please read the ‘Changes to insurance’ flyer for more details on these changes.
You can refer to the Product Disclosure Statement and Reference Guide for more information about your current insurance cover. These documents will contain the updated information about insurance from February 2021.
We’ll be contacting you by letter in the first few weeks of December 2020 to let you know if these changes apply to you. This will include a comparison of your current estimated premium amount and the new estimated premium amount that will apply from 21 February 2021.
Insurers periodically review premium rates to make sure that members are paying the appropriate amount for their cover so they can continue to pay claims to members in their time of need.
The past few years have seen an increase in claims made across most insurance types and the insurer has paid a greater proportion of claims, which is impacting the cost of providing cover.
As a result, our insurer has advised us that they will change the insurance premium rates in February 2021. We negotiated with our insurer and arranged for an independent review of the premium changes to ensure we keep premium increases as low as possible and that we can continue to offer you quality insurance cover.
We have not changed the insurance premium rates since 2013.
Insurance continues to play an important role in many of our lives – providing financial support when it’s needed most.
Types of cover are available through your super to protect you:
You can refer to the Product Disclosure Statement for more information about your current insurance cover. The updated Reference Guide will be available from 21 February 2021.
If you’re unsure about what you should do, a financial adviser can help you work out what insurance cover is right for you.
Remember, you can cancel or change your cover at any time.
If you want to
Increase, cancel or change your insurance cover
How to let us know
Log on to NetBank and select your Essential Super account > Insurance > Add, change or cancel your insurance.
OR
By calling us on 13 4074
Colonial First State Investments Limited ABN 98 002 348 352, AFSL 232468 (CFS) is the issuer of interests in Commonwealth Essential Super ABN 56 601 925 435 (Essential Super) and is a wholly owned but non-guaranteed subsidiary of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia ABN 48 123 123 124 (Bank). This document may include general financial product advice but does not consider your individual objectives, financial circumstances or needs. You should read the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) and the Reference Guide for Essential Super carefully and consider whether the information is appropriate for you before making any decision regarding this product. Download the PDS and Reference Guide at commbank.com.au/essentialsuper-documents call us on 13 4074 or +61 2 9303 3000 if overseas for a copy. The Bank and its subsidiaries do not guarantee the performance of Essential Super and an investment in this product is subject to risk, loss of income and capital invested. An investment in Essential Super is via a superannuation trust and is therefore not an investment in, deposit with or other liability of the Bank or its subsidiaries.
The insurance provider is The Colonial Mutual Life Assurance Society Limited ABN 12 004 021 809 AFS Licence 235035 (‘the insurer’).The insurer is a wholly owned but non-guaranteed subsidiary of the Bank. It is proposed that the life insurance policies issued by the insurer will be transferred to AIA Australia Limited (AIA) (which is part of the AIA Group). This transfer is subject to certain conditions being met including court approval which is expected to be received in the first half 2021. Pending this transfer the Bank and AIA have entered into a Joint Cooperation Agreement, under which AIA has an appropriate level of direct management and oversight of the insurer’s business.
