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Averse to Risk - Risk Insurance Specialist, Suite F1/C 47 Ashmore Road, Bundall (2026)

10/11/2022

How life insurers view smoking ✏

Smoking accounts for 13% of all deaths in Australia – killing an estimated 20,500 people a year. If you're a smoker, you're classified as a high-risk applicant by all life insurers and your premiums will typically be much more than a non-smoker. A life insurance application will have questions that will lead to you being labelled a smoker or non-smoker.

Generally, insurers won't distinguish between any of the following:

✍️Cigarettes
✍️Vapes and e-cigarettes
✍️Chewing to***co
✍️Cigars
✍️Nicotine replacements, like patches

So, insurance providers will typically put e-cigarette use and va**ng into the same category of 'smoker'.

Typically, to be classed as a 'non-smoker' you'll need to be free of any smoking products for 12 months but this car vary between insurers. Insurers usually don't differentiate between an occasional smoker (for example, a 'social smoker') or a pack-a-day smoker.

It is important to be aware of the impact smoking places on your life insurance premiums.

02/11/2022

How Hobbies Affect Life Insurance 🤔

Everyone has hobbies, some riskier than others. Take scuba diving, flying helicopters, or rock climbing for example.

Taking risks can be fun, exhilarating, and full of unforgettable memories. Though the thought of jumping out of a plane voluntarily might terrify some people, it’s the type of experience many adventurers seek out.

While risky hobbies might add excitement to your life, they can also add to the amount you pay for life insurance.

Hobbies affect life insurance because they can add additional risk to an otherwise risk-free applicant.

Additional risk translates to additional premiums.

Even if you’re in perfect health, the activities and hobbies you participate in could make you slightly harder to insure.

When you apply for cover, the life insurer will set out to determine how much to charge you for your policy, placing you in a specific rating class based on your health and lifestyle.

The insurer’s main goal in doing so is to determine how much of a risk they are taking by insuring you, so the hobbies you enjoy will naturally impact your premiums if they are risky ones.

Alongside those risks, the insurer will look at your family history, health conditions, height, weight, and age to establish your rating class and set your premiums.

If you frequently scale the sides of mountains, swim among the creatures of the deep blue sea and jump out of planes, your odds of an unnatural death are a bit higher than the average person idling on the couch reading about the types of adventures you’re living.

And, even each hobby has a scale of how little or great of a risk you post, based on qualifications, safety precautions, training and more.

Each life insurance company will ask a series of questions on their applications to gauge your lifestyle choices, among them your extracurricular activities.

If you answer “Yes” to any one of these questions, you’ll be asked to fill out what is called a lifestyle questionnaire.

26/10/2022

Common life insurance exclusions ✏

✅Suicide - This is a very common exclusion in life insurance policies. Generally speaking, insurance companies will not payout if the individual insured takes their own life within 13 months of signing up for the policy.

✅ Illegal or criminal activity - Even with accidental death cover or total permanent disability insurance, if you are injured while taking part in an illegal activity then your insurance provider may deny the claim.

Just remember, 'illegal activity' is a fairly broad term and although it could refer to something sensational like stealing a car or holding up a bank, it could also apply to more passive crimes such as trespassing.

✅ Drug or alcohol use - Drug and alcohol substance abuse is also a common exclusion in life insurance policies. Unless the consumption of pills or medication was taken at the direction of a doctor, insurance providers will most often not pay out if it’s found that the person insured was injured while under the influence of alcohol or in connection to drug addiction, or substance abuse.

✅ War or warlike activity - This one applies if you are injured during a war, whether it is declared or not. This can also include civil unrest, such as a riot. So if you were injured while taking part in a protest, then your insurance company may also deny the claim.

✅ Sports and risky hobbies - This last one is really only if the sport or particularly risky activity is something that you do on a regular basis. In other words, your insurance company probably won’t be worried if you’re doing a once-in-a-lifetime skydive for your birthday. However, if you’re a regular paraglider or you’re often taking rides in race cars, then an insurance provider may see your behaviour as risky.

If you do have risky hobbies, then your insurance company may apply certain exclusions to your policy. For instance, if you are injured in a motor racing accident, then you may not be covered.

If you omit something or do not tell the truth, for example if you lie about not being a smoker, then your life insurance company may deny a claim based on the fact that you did not provide the correct information.

23/10/2022

Can you still get life insurance with a history of drug use? 🤔

If you have used recreational drugs in the past, how does this affect your ability to get life insurances?

The most important thing to understand when it comes to recreational drugs and applying for life insurances is that for the most part it really does depend upon your individual situation, your occupation, your overall health and whether your drug use was intravenous or otherwise.

How long is 'in the past' you ask?
Well that does generally depend on your individual situation. As a rule of thumb, at least three years of being drug free is usually needed when working with a single type of drug use. This can be interpreted that a person's medical and health history has become predictable to the point where their life insurance options are within reach.
A five year drug free period is usually needed when we’re working with repetitive drug use, again, depending upon your individual situation.

Current drug use brings additional unknowable health risks into play, one of which is you simply have no control over the composition (purity) of an non-prescribed drug and how it might affect you and any associated health issues that you may or may not know about.

You do need to be aware that some particular types of drug are statistically seen as leading on to ‘harder’ drugs or might be showing significant health risks in emerging big data studies and bring a combination risk that is usually too difficult to clearly understand so would trigger an automatic decline in an application for cover.

21/10/2022

Simply put, an underwriter is the person or company who looks at all the data collected about you and determines if your overall risk level would be suitable for the company to insure.

The underwriter will give you an insurance classification and, based on that classification and other data, your eligibility for coverage and rate will be set. Generally, the better your classification, the less you will pay for your premium.

Like all insurance rates, life insurance rates are based on risk. Underwriters examine the information you’ve listed on your application to determine how likely it is that you will pass away during the policy period, which means that the insurance company would have to pay your death benefit.

The underwriter looks at everything from your age and weight to whether your hobbies are risky — skydiving, for example — and then assesses the likelihood of your death. To make their assessment, they’ll use something called an underwriting manual, which is specific to that company. This manual lists the guidelines that the company uses to determine who they will and won’t write policies for.

15/10/2022

When’s the best time to take out life insurance?

Life insurance premiums, whether they’re stepped (increasing yearly) or levelled (fixed at a higher upfront price) will get more expensive as time goes on. However, the younger and healthier you are, the more likely it is you’re eligible for a cheaper life insurance policy at the start.

Most providers set age limits on when you can take out a new life insurance policy, usually between 16 and 69 years old. Life cover can also usually be renewed well into old age, but other packaged coverage options like trauma or TPD insurance will be capped between 70 - 80 years of age.

So when’s the ideal time of life to buy life insurance? Depends on the person. However, no matter the age, people with partners, dependents, or important assets like property may want to consider life insurance as an option for protecting their family’s finances.

12/10/2022

Why should I get life insurance?

Life insurance can offer financial protection to you and your family if you’re no longer able to support them. For instance, it could help cover living expenses if you become too sick or injured to work, or pay for hospice care if you get diagnosed with a terminal illness.

After your death, life insurance can also step in to clear debts (like credit cards or a mortgage) or pay for funeral expenses.

Not everyone may necessarily need life cover, but there are other kinds of life insurance, such as trauma or income protection insurance, that could help support you if you lose the ability to work.

06/10/2022

an life insurance policies expire? The answer to that depends on the policy.

The expiration of a life insurance policy is when the policy’s coverage ends. This is also referred to as a policy cancellation or termination.

Generally, life insurance policies are available in two types: permanent life insurance and term life insurance. Like their names imply, permanent life insurance policies are meant to provide coverage for your whole life; term life insurance policies are meant to provide coverage for a specified amount of time.

As long as premiums are paid on time, permanent life insurance policies do not expire. Their coverage lasts for the insured’s entire life. Some permanent life insurance policies can end between ages 100 to 121. This will depend on the policy or company. If the policy ends at the age, you will still get the death benefit.

Term life insurance policies have specified terms that vary by policy. Many different lengths of terms are available, and common term lengths are yearly/renewable, 5-year renewable, 10-year, 15-year, 20-year and Term to a specified age (usually 65).

At the end of the specified term of the policy, life insurance coverage ends. At this time, the insured often has the option to convert the policy to a permanent policy or to renew the term.

Coverage ends when a life insurance policy lapses. Any life insurance policy can lapse due to non-payment, whether the policy is permanent or term. Life insurance policies often have a grace period to pay the premium.

04/10/2022

Why do I need Life insurance when I’m young? 🤔

Illness and injury can happen at any time regardless of your age and whether you’re healthy or unwell. If something happens and you need a few months off work, this could cause serious financial strain.

If you’re under 25 you might not have huge amounts of debt, but you’ll still have ongoing expenses if you can’t work. If you have no income and extra medical expenses, you’ll need to be able to cover them – unless you have large amounts of savings sitting there and you are willing to spend it.

29/09/2022

It is important to be mindful about solely relying on the insurance you have within your superannuation.

A few points to consider:
Limited cover — The amount of cover you can get in super is often lower than the cover you can get outside super. Default insurance through super isn't specific to your circumstance and some eligibility requirements may apply.

Cover can end — If you change super funds, your contributions stop or your super account becomes inactive, your cover may end. You could end up with no insurance.

Reduces your super balance — Insurance premiums are deducted from your super balance. This reduces your savings for retirement.
Check your insurance before changing super funds. If you have a pre-existing medical condition or are over age 60, you may not be able to get the cover you want.

Feel free to get in touch if you feel you could benefit from additional cover.

27/09/2022

You know you have insurance in Super.. but is it enough?

Super funds typically offer three types of life insurance for their members:

life cover — also called death cover. This pays a lump sum or income stream to your beneficiaries when you die or if you have a terminal illness.

TPD insurance — pays you a benefit if you become seriously disabled and are unlikely to work again.

Income Protection insurance — also called salary continuance cover. This pays you a regular income for a specified period (this could be for 2 years, 5 years or up to a certain age) if you can't work due to temporary disability or illness.

Most super funds will automatically provide you with life cover and TPD insurance. Some will also automatically provide income protection insurance. This insurance is for a specified amount and is generally available without medical checks.

TPD insurance cover in super usually ends at age 65. Life cover usually ends at age 70. Outside of super, cover generally continues as long as you pay the premiums.

Have you calculated if the sums insured you have in your super policies are enough for your family to sustain its lifestyle in the event you had to claim? Is there a shortfall? Feel free to get in touch if you need assistance determining this.

22/09/2022

Don't wait or the 'event' to occur.. insure yourself and protect now... The peace of mind this brings is priceless!

Averse to Risk - Risk Insurance Specialist

10/11/2022

02/11/2022

26/10/2022

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21/10/2022

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12/10/2022

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