Automatic insurance cover
What is Automatic insurance cover?
Eligible1 First Super members receive some insurance cover automatically for Death and Total and Permanent Disablement (TPD). This is called automatic (or default) insurance cover.
It is insurance cover paid through your super. You don’t have to apply for it. It starts as soon as you:
- Are age 25 or older, and
- Have $6,000 in your superannuation account, and
- Receive a superannuation contribution from your employer (or make one yourself) or receive a rollover from another superannuation fund within the last 16 months.
You may already have automatic insurance. To check, log into firstonline through the website or mobile app and go to “Insurance”. Or contact us for help.
1Read the Insurance Guide for additional eligibility requirements.
How does automatic insurance work?
Case study – Annie’s automatic cover starts
Annie is 30 years old when she joins First Super. Her opening account balance is $0. She receives regular super contributions from her employer and within a year her balance reaches $6,000.
Annie’s automatic insurance automatically starts because she has met the eligibility conditions for cover.
What’s covered by automatic insurance
Automatic insurance includes 4 “units” of Death (including Terminal Illness) and TPD insurance. The amount each unit is worth depends on your age and decreases as you get older.
For example, for a 25-year-old, 4 units of automatic insurance would be worth $200,000. For a 35-year-old, 4 units of automatic cover would be worth $180,000.
You can choose to fix the value of your cover so it stays the same as you get older. However, your premium will increase each year on your birthday.
New members may also be eligible for the New Member Offer, where you can apply for extra units of cover within six months of starting with your employer and joining First Super. Learn more by reading the Insurance Guide.
What’s not included in automatic insurance cover?
Income Protection insurance is not part of automatic insurance cover. If you want to protect your salary with Income Protection insurance, you need to apply.
What are the fees for automatic insurance?
If you have automatic cover, you will be paying insurance fees (also called “premiums”) of between $4.44 and $10.72 per week. When your Automatic insurance cover starts, the cost is automatically defaulted to the higher $10.72 unit per week (blue collar / mannual).
The amount you pay depends on your occupation category. You should check you are in the right occupation category and so you are not paying more than you have to.
Insurance fees are deducted from your superannuation account at the end of each month. You will see these listed in your transactions as Group Life Premiums Payable.
How to Opt in for automatic insurance cover before turning 25 or reaching $6,000
If you don’t meet the eligibility conditions for automatic cover – that is, if you are not yet age 25 and/or your balance is less than $6,000 – you don’t have to wait. You can opt in to start your cover now as long as you have enough superannuation in your account to cover the cost of premiums.
Complete our online Opt-in form and we’ll get to work setting up your insurance if you are eligible. Note that other eligibility criteria still apply – see the Insurance Guide.
Case study – Trent opts to start his insurance sooner
Trent is 24 with a super balance of $10,000. He is too young for automatic insurance to start. Trent is getting married soon and he wants his family to be protected if something happens to him.
He completes the online Opt-in to start cover now instead of waiting until he turns 25.
How to cancel your automatic insurance cover
Don’t want your automatic cover?
We will send you a letter when your automatic cover starts. If you don’t want to keep your cover, tell us within 14 days of the date of the letter and we will stop your insurance and refund any premiums you may have been charged.
If you have had automatic cover for longer than 14 days, you can still change or cancel it anytime, but any premiums you’ve paid won’t be refunded.
We’re here to help, so give us a call.
If you have any questions, please call our Member Services Team on 1300 360 988, or email us.