Life insurance is also known as term life or simply death cover. It pays a lump sum to a nominated beneficiary or estate upon the death of the person insured or upon the diagnosis of a terminal illness.

Loutkovsky Insurance compares all providers when finding the most suitable policy for our clients. When looking at Death and TPD cover we generally compare on a cost basis as the definitions for claiming on these two types of policies are fairly standard across the various companies. For Income Protection, Critical Illness and Child's cover the quotes we provide for our clients are for the highest quality policies. There are standard benefits policies available which may be suitable for your needs, our advisers will take this into account when recommended levels of cover for you. You can rest assured that the advisers at Loutkovsky Insurance are here to recommend policies that meet your needs to the highest standard.

Trauma insurance (also known as critical illness insurance or recovery insurance) pays a tax free, lump sum upon diagnosis of a specific medical condition once you meet the definition of that medical event as defined by the insurer. Trauma insurance covers up to 55 conditions but the majority of Trauma claims are from:

- Cancer

- Heart-related conditions such as heart attack

- Stroke

Better quality policies will cover partial payments on less serious Trauma conditions such as low-level cancers. Trauma insurance is more expensive than Death or TPD cover because the rate of claiming is higher - with Death there is only one thing you can claim on (death), whereas with Trauma cover there are up to 55 conditions that can be claimed on.

What would happen if you were no longer able to earn an income because you got cancer...or had a stroke...or broke your leg? What if you needed to have 3 months off work due to your medical condition. What if that turned into 6 months...12 months...2 years? How would you survive? How would you like to survive?

Income Protection is designed to replace your income in the event you cannot work due to sickness, injury or accident.

• It will cover up to 75% of your gross income plus super contributions.
• It covers you 24 hours, 7 days a week, worldwide*.
• If you make a claim, the payments are paid to you in arrears one month from the end of the waiting period and last until the earlier of you either being able to return to work or the end of your benefit period.
• It is tax deductible for everyone, at your marginal tax rate

*some restrictions apply since September 11, 2001.

TPD insurance (total and permanent disability insurance) provides a lump sum to the insured person upon being diagnosed as being totally and permanently incapacitated and unable to work or perform the duties of daily living. It can be taken out on its own, called Stand Alone TPD, or linked to a life insurance policy. There are 3 definitions of TPD you can choose at time of application - 'Own Occupation', 'Any Occupation' and 'Home-makers or Activities of Daily Living'.

For a detailed explanation of the types of TPD cover available please click here to be redirected to the TPD page.

The main purpose of TPD cover is to provide a lump sum of money to care for you and your family (if applicable) for the long term. You are totally and permanently disabled which means it is highly unlikely that you will ever be able to work again. That could be a long time...where is the income going to come from in order to provide for the costs of living, paying the mortgage, sending the children to school, putting food on the table etc, which are still demands on the household?

You now also have to contend with the fact that you may require round the clock care for spinal issues or nervous breakdown (for example), and TPD cover can supply the lump sum funding needed to stay on track whilst catering for the life insured's changed lifestyle needs.

You may need TPD cover if any of the following are true for you:

1. If there are people who depend on you financially, who would stand to lose out in the event you can no longer work

2. If you have debts that you would like paid out in the event you can never work again

3. If you do not currently have large financial reserves to see you through (potentially) many years without an income.

No matter whether you are an employee, self-employed, single or partnered or partnered with children you need life insurance if the following is true for you:

1. You have people who depend on you financially (spouse, children, other dependents such as disabled dependents, business partners)

2. You have debt that you want paid off in the event of your death so as not to burden your family/relatives (personal home debt, investment property debt, business debt, personal loans, etc)

3. You want to leave a bequest to a beneficiary or charity of your choosing.

Call 02 9633 5530 to speak with one of our advisers to discuss your needs in more detail or fill out a quote request form.

At Loutkovsky Insurance we believe that everyone should have Trauma cover regardless of their occupation, their debt or whether they have children or not! Trauma conditions such as cancer do not discriminate and neither should you on whether you consider having Trauma cover in your insurance portfolio. This is the cover we see the most claims for in our office, and as the cases of serious illnesses such as cancer, heart attack and stroke increase so too do the claims.

The Waiting Period is the minimum number of days a person has to be unable to work before you will start to receive payment from the insurance company. The longer the waiting period, the lower the premium. Waiting periods available are generally 14, 30, 60, 90, 180 days or 1 year and 2 years.

Loutkovsky Insurance does not charge any fees for insurance advice or for putting together the appropriate insurance plan and provider for you. We are paid a commission by the recommended insurer, this allows us to provide our services free of charge to you. The commission we receive is fully disclosed to you in a Statement of Advice.

You can request a review or get quotes on Life, TPD, Trauma, Income Protection or any of our other insurance covers by filling out our online request form or calling our office directly on 02 9633 5530

The 'Benefit Period' is the maximum amount of time that the claimant can receive benefits from the insurance company. The benefit period starts from the end of your chosen waiting period and continues for as long as the insured person is either totally or partially disabled and unable to work. The longer the benefit period, the higher the premium. Benefit periods available are 2, 5, 6 years or age 55, 60, 65 or 70 (for some occupations).

The majority of the population qualify for application - you need to be between a certain age range. The age range is usually 11 to 75 years of age but varies slightly depending on the insurance company. If you are a permanent resident or hold another type of Visa life insurance is still available to you; one of our advisers can help you with that.

Trauma cover is designed to supplement a person's financial needs during the recovery period associated with their illness. The specific amount required is dependent on your specific needs, but most clients are covered for $100,000 to $500,000 Trauma cover.

Medicare may cover some of the costs associated with treatments such as chemotherapy or heart surgery. A lot of medications are also on the PBS which is great. However, Medicare does not cover 100% of the costs, there is generally a gap. What is the solution to ensure 100% coverage?

Trauma insurance allows you certainty that you will have a complete safety net. A few questions for you:

• Will Medicare cover the wages you lose from needing to take 12 months off work due to cancer?
• Will Medicare continue to pay your mortgage whilst you recover from a heart attack? 
• Will Medicare pay for the costs of child care whilst you go to hospital a couple of times a week for chemotherapy?
• Will Medicare pay for continuous, round the clock care from a qualified nurse at home whilst you recover from a stroke?

Trauma cover is absolutely invaluable and allows you to recover from your illness without extra stress caused by financial hardship. The diagnosis rates of insurable conditions such as cancer, heart attack and strokes are increasing every year. Have a look at our recent claim payout section for an idea of how much trauma cover could help you.

If you feel you would like to have some trauma cover, call Loutkovsky Insurance on 02 9633 5530 or fill out a quote request form.

• AIA
• AMP
• Asteron
• Aviva (existing policies only, now registered under MLC)
• AXA
• CommInsure
• OnePath (formally ING)
• Macquarie Life
• MLC
• TAL (formally Tower Life)
• Zurich
• We are also able to offer general Sickness and Accident cover for clients who may not qualify for mainstream cover due to occupation or medical history

Yes you can choose up to 5 nominated beneficiaries to receive a portion of the life insurance payout. The proportion of benefit is also nominated. If no beneficiaries are nominated the life insurance payout will be paid to the estate of the deceased.

Income Protection is regulated by law in Australia and you cannot generally cover yourself for more than 75% of your gross income and super contributions. If you are self-employed it is generally 75% of the income generated by the business due to your personal exertion less your share of expenses. Some people will be entitled to site allowances and packaged fringe benefits which can be covered. It is important that when you apply for Income Protection that you have financials such as a confirmation of salary, group certificate or profit and loss statements (self-employed people) ready so we can organise the most accurate quote for you.

Most companies allow you to pay:

• via direct debit from a nominated bank account
• credit card
• cheque or money order (annual payments only)

according to the following payment frequency options:

• Monthly
• Quarterly
• Half-Yearly
• Annually

NB: If you choose monthly the overall annual premium is increased by generally 5%-8% depending on the company. Paying annually is the cheapest option.

These two terms refer to the way an insurance company will pay you at time of claim.

Agreed Value

This means that you and the insurance company agree to a value which you will be insured for at the application stage. It generally requires financial evidence such as a copy of your employment contract, a group certificate or if you are self-employed, tax returns and profit/loss statements. What is important is that regardless of how your income fluctuates in future the insurer will pay you what they agreed to at the beginning of the policy (inflation adjusted). If your income increases, you need to increase your level of cover. If your income decreases it does not matter.

For example, on an agreed value policy you may have been an Accountant earning $150,000 per annum when you took out your Agreed Value Income Protection policy, in which case your monthly benefit would be $9,375. However, you decide on a career change and are currently employed as a Legal Secretary earning $80,000 per annum. In the event of a claim you are entitled to the $9,375 per month (inflation adjusted) as the policy was taken out on an Agreed Value basis.

Indemnity

Financial evidence is not required at time of application however it means that in the event of a claim financial evidence will be required. Furthermore the insurer will only pay you the lower of what you insured yourself for or what you are earning at time of claim. If your income has dropped since you took out the policy this could mean a very different amount to what you may be expecting! However, it is cheaper than agreed value policies and allows people who may not qualify for agreed value cover to get themselves Income Protection cover.

No, generally any of the policies can be cancelled at any time without penalty.

Generally the greater the chances of you suffering a injury, accident or sickness as a result of the duties you perform at work, the higher the premium for Income Protection. For example, the premiums for a person who is desk-bound are cheaper than someone in a more manual occupation where an injury such as a broken finger could stop the person from working.

The major difference between Workers Compensation and Income Protection is that Workers Compensation will only cover you if you suffer an injury or accident at work. Income Protection covers you for accident, injury and illness regardless of when and where the incident occurs. It is important you are aware of an limitations or exclusions which may be placed on your individual policy.

A Stepped premium goes up like a step each year; it increases each year with the insured's age to reflect the increased risk of claiming. Level premiums remain fairly consistent over the life of the policy and are not age-dependent but are expensive in the first few years of the policy. Level premiums expire at age 65. You can read more about Stepped and Level premiums in our Knowledge Bank section.

Most people who apply for insurance do not need to have a medical examination. If you are in a higher age bracket and/or you are applying for a significant amount of cover (generally more than $1million of cover) then you may be required to have a medical. The medical required may just be a quick check involving height/weight, blood pressure and urine test or you could require blood tests and/or a doctor's report. Generally Loutkovsky Insurance arranges a mobile pathology unit to conduct these tests at a time and place suitable and convenient to the client. Alternatively you can see your own doctor if you feel more comfortable. The cost of any medical requirements is paid for by the insurance company; the best part is you get a free medical check-up and a copy of the results if you wish!

Medical disclosures are very important in an insurance application. All life insurance companies have a Duty of Disclosure which a client must agree to and which generally states that before you become insured you have the duty to inform the life insurance company of every matter (medical or otherwise) that you could be reasonably be expected to know and is relevant to the life insurance company's decision whether to accept the risk of insurance.

No they cannot. As long as you pay your premiums and comply with the policy conditions insurance policies in the Life Insurance industry are called 'guaranteed renewable' which means that as long as you disclose everything which you can be reasonably expected to know at the time of application your risk is underwritten at that time and the insurer will not cancel your policy or increase the premium because of the number of claims you make or any change to your state of health, occupation or pastimes.

Yes you do. If you have smoked tobacco or any other substance within the last 12 months you will be classified as a smoker. Once you have been nicotine free for 12 months you will be classed as a non-smoker.

Not necessarily. It would depend on the type of activity in which you engage and its risk of increasing the chances of you making a claim. Usually sporting and pursuits exclusions are applied to Income Protection or TPD cover rather than Death or Trauma cover as the risk of claiming as a result of being unable to work due to a sporting or pursuits is higher than dying from them. Some activities such as diving below depths of 30 metres, motorsports, private aviation or mountaineering will require a seperate questionnaire to be completed upon application.

Yes! Generally all of the insurance covers offered cover you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, anywhere in the world. However, some restrictions may apply if you travel to a certain country regularly or if you are about to go to a certain country at time of application.