Important insurance updates
Cbus members work in some of the toughest conditions out there, so it’s important your insurance provides cover that’s tailored for your industry. These changes will be operationally available shortly.
Learn more about changes to insurance planned for 1 April 2020.
The cost of death and TPD insurance cover is changing
If you have death or total and permanent disablement (TPD) insurance through Cbus, from 1 April 2020 the cost of your insurance will increase, and will now be based on your age.
We understand that no one likes to see their fees go up, and we’ve worked hard with our insurer to keep this increase to an absolute minimum.
Please note: These changes are being implemented over the month of April and your premiums will apply effective from 4 April 2020.
Why is Cbus increasing premiums?
Most Cbus members work in pretty dangerous jobs, so finding suitable insurance cover outside of super can be tricky and expensive.
We always keep a close eye on our insurance pricing because we know how important it is that you receive good quality cover, that’s also value for money.
We last changed our pricing in September 2017 and at that time, most members saw their premiums drop between 25% and 44%. Since then:
- the Government announced two major changes to how we provide insurance (Protecting Your Super and Putting Members’ Interests First reforms)
- we’ve improved the policy and benefit design of your cover (e.g. extra cover if you’re a manual worker and approaching retirement and more generous TPD claim assessments - see below)
- there’s been an increase in the amount of insurance benefits paid to members and beneficiaries (in 2018/19 we paid $246 million in claims – that’s over 10% more than the amount paid out in 2016/17).
These factors have led to an increase in the rates charged by our insurer. Other super funds face similar cost pressures and we’re now seeing a number of funds increasing their fees.
We’ll continue to review the premiums you pay to ensure they reflect the best possible rates we can get.
What are the new premiums ?
Weekly cost per unit of cover from 1 April 2020
Age band | Manual | Non manual and professional | Electech | |||
Death | TPD | Death | TPD | Death | TPD | |
15-24 | $1.44 | $1.45 | $1.67 | $1.22 | $1.22 | $1.61 |
25-34 | $1.49 | $1.50 | $1.73 | $1.26 | $1.26 | $1.67 |
35-49 | $1.53 | $1.55 | $1.78 | $1.30 | $1.30 | $1.71 |
50+ | $1.66 | $1.69 | $1.94 | $1.41 | $1.41 | $1.86 |
Cost before 1 April 2020 | $1.33 | $1.35 | $1.55 | $1.13 | $1.13 | $1.49 |
Will the cost of income protection increase?
No, we’re not changing the cost of income protection cover.
If you’re a Sole Trader Super member and currently have accident only cover, your insurance will automatically transfer to accident and illness cover from 1 April 2020. Your insurance premiums will change to reflect your new combined cover – read the section below for details.
How can you check your new premiums?
These changes will apply automatically. You can check the costs of your cover by logging into your online account after 1 April 2020 or by calling us.
Extra cover for older workers
If you work in a Manual occupation and are over age 51, from 1 April 2020 the premium increase will provide you with more cover.
This increase is as a result of member feedback. Members told us they needed more cover as they approached retirement, so we’ve negotiated this uplift with the insurer.
FAQ
What are the new cover levels?
Age |
Death cover per unit | TPD cover per unit | ||
Before 1 April | After 1 April | Before 1 April | After 1 April | |
51 | $48,000 | $48,000 | $24,000 | $25,000 |
52 | $44,000 | $44,000 | $22,000 | $25,000 |
53 | $39,500 | $39,500 | $19,750 | $25,000 |
54 | $35,000 | $35,000 | $17,500 | $25,000 |
55 | $33,000 | $33,000 | $16,500 | $23,000 |
56 | $31,000 | $31,000 | $15,500 | $21,000 |
57 | $29,000 | $29,000 | $14,500 | $18,750 |
58 | $27,000 | $27,000 | $13,500 | $16,500 |
59 | $25,000 | $25,000 | $12,500 | $14,250 |
60 | $23,000 | $25,000 | $11,500 | $12,000 |
61 | $21,000 | $25,000 | $10,500 | $10,500 |
62 | $19,000 | $25,000 | $9,500 | $9,500 |
63 | $17,000 | $25,000 | $8,500 | $8,500 |
64 | $15,000 | $25,000 | $7,500 | $7,500 |
How can I change my cover
To change your insurance cover at any time, simply:
- login to your account
- complete the relevant insurance form.
Income protection cover changes for Sole Trader Super members
From 1 April 2020, the accident only cover option for income protection insurance will no longer be available through Sole Trader Super accounts. From that date, you’ll only be able to select accident and illness cover.
If you’re a Sole Trader Super member and currently have accident only cover, your insurance will automatically upgrade to accident and illness cover from that date. Your insurance premiums will also change to reflect your new cover.
FAQ
Why is Cbus removing accident only cover?
This change has been made as a result of feedback from our members and expectations around the type of cover needed. For most members, being covered for an unexpected illness is just as important as being covered for an accident.
Removing accident only cover will ensure that members who want income protection cover through Cbus have more comprehensive cover if something happens and they can’t work.
How much will it cost?
If this change affects you, from 1 April 2020 you’ll see a change to your cover type and weekly cost. Your units of cover, waiting period and payment period won’t change
You can use the tables below to check the cost of accident and illness cover from 1 April 2020.
Weekly cost per unit – 30-day waiting period
Age | 2-year payment period | 5-year payment period | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Non-manual | Skilled trades | Manual | Non-manual | Skilled trades | Manual | |
15-19 | $0.27 | $0.42 | $0.82 | $0.34 | $0.53 | $1.03 |
20-24 | $0.27 | $0.42 | $0.82 | $0.35 | $0.54 | $1.05 |
25-29 | $0.27 | $0.42 | $0.82 | $0.36 | $0.56 | $1.09 |
30-34 | $0.34 | $0.51 | $1.01 | $0.46 | $0.70 | $1.39 |
35-39 | $0.44 | $0.68 | $1.31 | $0.62 | $0.95 | $1.85 |
40-44 | $0.59 | $0.91 | $1.78 | $0.86 | $1.33 | $2.59 |
45-49 | $0.79 | $1.23 | $2.37 | $1.19 | $1.84 | $3.55 |
50-54 | $1.11 | $1.74 | $3.33 | $1.71 | $2.67 | $5.12 |
55-59 | $1.60 | $2.56 | $4.81 | $2.53 | $4.04 | $7.59 |
60-64 | $2.01 | $2.75 | $6.03 | $3.25 | $4.44 | $9.74 |
Weekly cost per unit - 90-day waiting period
Age | 2-year payment period | 5-year payment period | ||||
Non-manual | Skilled trades | Manual | Non-manual | Skilled trades | Manual | |
15-19 | $0.12 | $0.21 | $0.35 | $0.16 | $0.28 | $0.47 |
20-24 | $0.11 | $0.20 | $0.34 | $0.15 | $0.27 | $0.46 |
25-29 | $0.10 | $0.19 | $0.32 | $0.15 | $0.26 | $0.45 |
30-34 | $0.12 | $0.21 | $0.36 | $0.18 | $0.31 | $0.53 |
35-39 | $0.16 | $0.29 | $0.49 | $0.25 | $0.44 | $0.74 |
40-44 | $0.23 | $0.43 | $0.68 | $0.35 | $0.66 | $1.06 |
45-49 | $0.36 | $0.62 | $1.07 | $0.57 | $0.99 | $1.70 |
50-54 | $0.56 | $0.98 | $1.68 | $0.92 | $1.61 | $2.75 |
55-59 | $0.94 | $1.73 | $2.83 | $1.58 | $2.88 | $4.73 |
60-64 | $1.15 | $2.13 | $3.45 | $1.95 | $3.61 | $5.85 |
Where can you find out more
To learn more about accident and illness cover, including when cover may stop, read the Insurance guide for Sole Trader Super (PDF) at or give us a call. The guide will be updated to remove references to accident only cover from 1 April 2020.
How can I change my cover?
To change your insurance cover at any time, simply:
- login to your account
- complete the relevant insurance form.
Other insurance changes to be aware of
Choose the level of TPD cover that's right for you
If you want TPD cover through Cbus, in the past you haven’t been able to select more TPD cover than death cover. For example, if you wanted five units of TPD cover, you would have also had to select at least five units of death cover.
We want to ensure you get the level of cover you need, so from 1 April 2020, we’re removing this restriction.
If you want to apply for five units of TPD cover, but only two units of death cover (or any other combination) you can.
Extending support for members diagnosed with a terminal illness
We already provide death cover for members who die within 14 days of the insurer making a TPD payment.
We’ve extended this support, so that now we will also provide death cover for members who are diagnosed with a terminal illness within 14 days of the insurer making a TPD payment.
If you have more death cover than TPD cover we’ll pay the:
- death cover amount
less
- TPD amount already paid.
For example, if you had death cover of $260,000 and TPD cover of $208,000, we’d pay the difference of $52,000. This extra amount could provide vital support to you or your family if you’re diagnosed with a terminal illness.
This change applies to claims where the diagnosis is made on or after 1 February 2020.
Fairer assessment of TPD claims
If you have TPD cover and need to make a claim, many insurance policies use a stricter assessment test if you’ve been unemployed for more than six months at the date of your disability.
Under the Cbus policy we use the same ‘unlikely to return to work’ assessment test whether you’ve been unemployed for three months or 12 months. From 1 February 2020, we’ve increased this timeframe even further, so that it applies even if you’ve been out of work for up to 24 months.
If you’ve been unemployed for over 24 months at the date of your disability, we’ll also continue to use a more generous Cbus ‘everyday work activities’ test, instead of the narrower ‘activities of daily living’ test used by many other super funds.
To learn more about how your TPD claim is assessed and the two definitions applied, read the Applying for a TPD payment fact sheet (PDF).
You can also read a copy of past and current definitions.
More support for mental illness
The ‘everyday work activities’ test used to assess TPD claims has been updated to specifically address psychiatric impairment (mental disorders).
By including mental disorders in our definition of TPD, we’re aiming to provide greater clarity in the assessment of these claims and ensure that if you can’t work due to psychiatric impairment (rather than physical incapacity) you won’t face unintended hurdles in the claim process.
This will be one of the most generous definitions on the market.
To learn more about the everyday work activities assessment, read the Applying for a TPD payment fact sheet (PDF).
Find out how much insurance cover you need
If you’re not sure how much cover you need, you can try our Insurance needs calculator.
For more information about the insurance available through Cbus you can also speak to one of our financial advisers over the phone – this service is included as part of your Cbus membership. Explore our advice services online or give us a call to find out more.
To change or cancel your insurance cover at any time, simply:
- login to your account
- complete the relevant insurance form.
We’re here to help
Call Cbus Advice Services on 1300 361 784
8.30am to 6pm Monday to Friday AEST/AEDT
Email: advice@cbussuper.com.au
Or use our online form to request a call from Advice Services.
Read our Financial Services Guide (PDF)