More cover without more medical questions

Have you wondered if you can increase your insurance cover without facing more medical questions? It turns out you can. Darryl Scott, GM of Imak explains how.

Insurance policies often contain what we call, ‘Special Event Options’. Special Event Options allow you to increase your cover without the need for more medical questions. There is often a limit to how much you can increase your cover and if you choose to lift the cover amount, you’ll need to pay a higher premium for the extra cover.

After a Special Event, you usually have 12-months to apply for increased cover. However, this can vary between insurers so talk to your Imak Financial Adviser for assistance.

We’re ready to help

The tricky thing is that your financial adviser can only help with a special event if they know about it. If you’re unsure, it pays to check in with us. We can answer questions, let you know what any increase could look like and explain your options.

If you’ve had a change in your health, then it’s even more worthwhile to ask us about the Special Event option; any increase you’d face will be accepted on the same terms as when you first applied for your cover.

So, what kind of things do these Special Events include?

While there’s some variance between policies and insurers, Special Events may include:

• The insured person begins permanently living with someone in the nature of marriage or civil union.
• The insured person divorces or dissolves a registered civil union.
• Death of the insured person’s spouse or partner.
• The insured person takes out or increases a loan of at least $25,000 for their primary residence, a new residential investment property, a holiday home, or a bare block of land zoned as residential, as long as the relevant property is solely residential.
• The insured person’s annual salary increases by at least $5,000. (Annual salary means regular remuneration, excluding extra income such as bonuses or overtime payments.)

Find out about your policy now

Although your Special Event Option may entail a few conditions, it presents an opportunity to get more cover without medical underwriting.

To find out more, talk to one of our Financial Advisers at Imak Advice for clarity and assistance, 09 307 9300.