Death cover is a type of insurance that can provide a benefit to your loved ones if you die. It can be hard to think about your own death. If something happens to you, people depending on your income may be affected. Having death cover in place means your loved ones can be more financially secure.
Key points:
- Death cover pays out an amount of money:
- to you if you are diagnosed with a terminal illness, or
- to your beneficiaries if you die.
- Death cover is not always an automatic part of your super, so it’s a good idea to check what you’re covered for.
- You can work out how much death cover you need in a few simple steps.
- If you don’t have death cover, you can apply for it.
- If your existing cover isn’t enough, you can apply to top it up.
How death cover works
Death cover is a type of insurance paid out to your loved ones if you die, or to you if you become terminally ill. This payment is called a death benefit and includes your super account balance.
If you die, we can pay your death benefit to your nominated beneficiaries. You can have more than one nominated beneficiary, and you can also request payment to your estate. If you don’t have a valid, binding death benefit nomination in place, we’ll decide who to pay your death benefit to. In most cases, the death benefit will be paid as a lump sum.
How terminal illness cover works
If you’re diagnosed with a terminal illness, we can pay the death benefit insurance amount to you. This is called a terminal illness benefit. A maximum terminal illness insurance amount of $5 million applies, even if your death cover is higher. If you make a claim, you'll need to meet certain criteria to have a terminal illness benefit paid. The insurer generally considers you to have a terminal illness if:
- two registered medical practitioners certify your illness or injury as terminal. One of these medical practitioners must be a specialist in the area related to the illness or injury
- it is likely to result in your death within 24 months.
You can find more information in the relevant Insurance handbook
Basic Cover
This gives you death and total and permanent disablement cover equal to the age-based cover scale. You might already have Basic Cover through Aware Super.
Find out more about Basic Cover in the relevant Insurance handbook
If you’re not covered and are eligible, you can apply at any time.
Basic Plus Cover
This option gives you double the Basic Cover amount. If you are eligible, you can apply for Basic Plus Cover at any time.
You can find more information in the relevant Insurance handbook
Where to next?
Calculate your insurance needs
Our insurance calculator can provide an estimate for how much you need and what it will cost. Simply answer a few questions such as your age, salary, number of dependants and expenses.
Check your insurance
Did you know you can check and change your insurance using your Aware Super Member Online account?
Transfer insurance to Aware Super
If you have insurance somewhere else, you can apply to transfer it to us. This means you could save money and maintain your existing cover.
