Frequently Asked Questions

You may hold different types of life insurance under your Protection Plans Life Insurance policy.

Term Life Insurance (Death cover) pays out a lump sum if you pass away or are diagnosed with a terminal illness and have less than 12 or 24 months left to live. Living Insurance (also called Critical Illness or Trauma Insurance) pays out a lump sum if you’re diagnosed with a specified medical event (such as cancer, stroke or heart attack) as defined in your policy’s terms and conditions, including to the requisite degree of severity. Total and Permanent Disablement (TPD) Insurance pays out a lump sum if you become permanently disabled due to sickness or injury and are unlikely to be able to ever work again.

This is a general guide to the different types of life insurance, income protection and the circumstances in which a claim may be payable. You can find out exactly what you’re eligible for by reading the terms and conditions of your insurance policy, detailed in your policy document.

Your cover only continues while your premiums are up to date. Life Insurance is an insurance policy, not a savings plan. In this sense, it works in the same way as many other insurances, such as car insurance. Other than if you cancel during the cooling off period or make a claim, if you stop paying, your cover will end and there will be no refund of any of the money you’ve paid in premiums. Premiums can be paid monthly, quarterly, half-yearly or annually by direct debits from your bank account, Visa or Mastercard.

In some cases, cover may be subject to conditions such as a premium loading or an exclusion.

A premium loading is an additional charge that is added to the premiums that you pay. It is applied to your policy as a result of your health, your occupation or if you undertake riskier pastimes.

An exclusion is a circumstance in which you will not be eligible to make a claim on your policy. Special conditions are additional terms or restrictions which may be applied to your policy, and to which you agreed at application.

Some exclusions may automatically apply to the product you hold – if that is the case, they will be detailed in your policy’s terms and conditions (Product Disclosure Statement and/or Policy Document). You may also be subject to an exclusion that was specifically applied to your policy, and to which you agreed at application (likely in relation to a particular medical condition, occupation or pastime).

We’re committed to the Life Insurance Code of Practice (the Code). The Code is the life insurance industry’s commitment to mandatory customer service standards and it’s designed to protect you. For more information on the Code, please visit this page.

Having your current address and contact details are crucial as this enables us to stay in contact with you and provide you with communications such as your anniversary letter each year, and any updates that may relate to your policy. Please make sure you let us know of any changes to your address, phone number, or email. You can update your details by calling us on 1300 553 764.

Once your insurance application has been accepted, you're not required to notify us about changes in your health or occupation. We evaluate your situation at the time of application, and your insurance is established based on your circumstances then. A life insurer cannot cancel your life insurance policy if your situation changes.

However, if there's a positive change in your circumstances, like moving to a less risky job or quitting smoking, you might qualify for a reduced premium. In such instances, you can request a policy modification and ask the insurer to consider whether or not your change in circumstances will impact your premium.

For example, consider Jim, who was a carpenter when he initially acquired his insurance. Over the years, he's moved to an office-based role within the construction industry. Jim can request to modify his policy, potentially lowering his premium, as he has transitioned from a manual to an office-based position.

Yes, it's possible to cancel your policy. To cancel, please call us on 1300 553 764.

It's important to carefully weigh the risks involved with cancelling your cover. If you’re seeking to switch to a new insurance policy, consider, for example whether the new policy's terms and conditions differ, or whether there’s a requirement to provide information about your health and lifestyle which may affect your ability to obtain new cover. Additionally, any waiting periods already served might reset. To avoid the risk of a gap in cover, in general you should not cancel an existing insurance policy until the new insurance policy is in place.    

Your Protection Plans insurance offers global coverage. Whether you're travelling or relocating overseas, your policy will continue to provide protection under the terms established when you initially purchased it.

It's important to note, though, that if you have Income Protection cover, certain aspects of the cover might be impacted if you’re abroad at the time you need to make a claim. Details of this are outlined in your PDS.

Your benefit amount is the amount you will be eligible to receive if you make a claim. Reducing your benefit amount will generally result in a lower premium.

Your Waiting Period is the length of time you need to be unable to work due to sickness or injury before you become eligible to make a claim on your Income Protection insurance. Generally, the longer your Waiting Period, the lower your premium will be.

Your Benefit Period is the maximum duration for which you will receive benefit payments. This applies to your Income Protection policy, where your benefit is paid monthly. Reducing your Benefit Period will generally reduce your premium.

As your situation changes, you may not need all the optional extras you chose when you took out your policy. In some cases, you may have the option to remove some of these extras from your policy to help reduce your premium.

Before you make any of these changes, it's important to consider whether the policy will still meet your needs. If you later decide to increase your benefit amount or benefit period, reduce your waiting period or add optional extras, you will generally need to make an application which will be subject to underwriting and acceptance. The same cover may also not be available again in future.

If you don't make a binding beneficiary nomination for your insurance benefit through superannuation, the superannuation trustee will decide who will receive your benefits after you pass away.

For information on making a complaint, please view the BT Life Complaints Management Process and BT Life Complaints Policy.

You can contact:

The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
GPO Box 5218
Sydney NSW 2001
Phone: 1300 363 992

An Income Protection Summary (IP summary) is a document that details the payments you've made towards your Income Protection policy in the previous financial year, ending on the 30th of June each year. It's advisable to present this IP summary to a registered tax agent when preparing your tax return.

We endeavour to send you an Income Protection summary by the end of July each year.

If we have your email address on file, we'll send your Income Protection summary to you via email. If not, we'll mail it to you through the post.

If you haven't received your IP Summary, it could be due to several reasons:

• Your Income Protection cover is managed through your Superannuation.
• You did not make any premium payments during the previous Financial Year.
• You filed an Income Protection claim in the previous financial year. In such cases, we aim to send out your IP Summary by mid-August of the new financial year.

If none of these reasons apply or you have further queries, please contact us by calling 1300 553 764 Monday to Friday, 8.00am to 6.30pm (Sydney time).

Life insurance policies are designed to be flexible so they can change with you as your life circumstances change. This may include:

• Increasing, decreasing or pausing your premiums to suit your current situation.
• Taking out more cover or reducing your cover as your circumstances change.

To discuss making changes to your cover, speak to your financial adviser or call our life insurance specialists on 1300 553 764 Monday to Friday, 8.00am to 6.30pm (Sydney time).

To discuss making changes to your cover, speak to your financial adviser or call our life insurance specialists on 1300 553 764 Monday to Friday, 8.00am to 6.30pm (Sydney time).