It is important to choose the best package for yourself. It is always best to go for an insurance policy that covers you against your ‘own occupation’. In this case, you start receiving benefits as soon as you are incapacitated to work in your former place of occupation. The other plan is that where you have the option of taking up a ‘suited occupation’ and only if you are unable to perform a suited occupation will you be paid benefits. By suited occupation, we are talking about an occupation that suits your degrees of education and training. In the third insurance plan, you shall be paid benefits only if you are unable to perform any occupation. This insurance policy is not very common.
The fourth policy is that where you are paid benefits in case you are unable to perform your daily chores. In other words, you are helped in case you are unable to perform your activities of dialing living (ADL). These include cooking, washing, housekeeping, etc. Very few insurance companies provide such insurance policies today. It is not easy to receive claims for this insurance policy because you are paid benefits only if you are incapacitated to perform your daily activities, which is highly uncommon. More often than not, it is seen that claims are rejected. Thus, it is better to not fall prey to this disguised from of income protection that might not materialize in your time of need.
As has been discussed earlier, the insurance policies have been divided into four divisions depending on the nature of the occupation of the policyholder. You could easily find yourself an insurance policy if you were a part of any of the first three tiers, it is not easy to be insured against the fourth and most risk prone section. Owing to the numerous risks that might befall such policyholders, insurance companies generally refrain from insuring construction workers, etc. If at all you are insured, you shall be offered ADL based cover. In most cases however, you shall be declined altogether.
Although the income protection insurance is very reliable, it is important to note that there are some cases where you might not be able to successfully claim for benefits. In case you are having neck pain or backache, it is not going to be easy for you to receive benefits. Although there are a few companies that go by the doctor’s examination, most of the insurance companies examine the illness or injury physically. Many insurance companies are very stringent and do not pay you benefits easily. Some require proper reports from the orthopedic consultant (as in for backache) or the psychiatric consultant (as in the case of stress). Therefore, public liability insurance Australia more often than not becomes really difficult for the policyholder to prove his illness to the insurance company and as such, he/she is unable to receive any claims. Thus, it is always recommended to examine all the conditions of the insurance plan and only then go ahead with it.
Income Protection 