Insurance cover confidence misled: TAL

5 November 2014
| By Malavika Santhebennur |
image
image
expand image

Almost half of Australians (45 per cent) believe they have adequate life insurance cover if they or their partner could never work again, a TAL survey showed.

The online survey also showed more than two-thirds of people have a single type of insurance out of the four forms of life insurance, and believe that is enough.

TAL argued Australians' confidence in their life insurance cover is misled, given the huge underinsurance gap.

"There is a belief that life insurance in superannuation automatically provides sufficient protection alone," TAL Group CEO Jim Minto said.

"Insurance through super has been fantastic for millions of Australians but unfortunately most people just retain the low, default level cover without assessing their personal needs."

Those who think they have enough insurance are more likely to have a high household income (53 per cent), be mortgage-free (67 per cent), and be married (49 per cent).

"A rule of thumb many believe that the minimum life and lump sum disability cover is 10 to 15 times' annual salary. This in turn creates an income to meet ongoing needs," Minto said.

The survey also found younger people aged 25-34 are more likely to feel they do not have enough insurance (46 per cent), compared to older people.

The survey was done by Galaxy Research on behalf of TAL with 1266 Australians aged 18-69.

Read more about:

AUTHOR

Recommended for you

sub-bgsidebar subscription

Never miss the latest developments in Super Review! Anytime, Anywhere!

Grant Banner

From my perspective, 40- 50% of people are likely going to be deeply unhappy about how long they actually live. ...

11 months ago
Kevin Gorman

Super director remuneration ...

11 months 1 week ago
Anthony Asher

No doubt true, but most of it is still because over 45’s have been upgrading their houses with 30 year mortgages. Money ...

11 months 1 week ago

Jim Chalmers has defended changes to the Future Fund’s mandate, referring to himself as a “big supporter” of the sovereign wealth fund, amid fierce opposition from the Co...

3 days 3 hours ago

Demand from institutional investors was the main driver of growth in Australia’s responsible investment (RI) market in 2023, as the industry continued to gain momentum....

3 days 3 hours ago

In a new review of the country’s largest fund, a research house says it’s well placed to deliver attractive returns despite challenges....

3 days 4 hours ago