Super & Insurance
Super & Insurance
Super and insurance are important. They are there for you when something happens or, in Super’s case, when you retire. It is important to know what is right for you and how to make sure you have yourself covered for the future.
Check out the information below to find our more and remember you can get help if you need it.
Main ideas:
Insurance:
- Why insure your home and/or contents?
- A smart thing – in case you need to claim one day
- A quick guide to car insurance
- Did you have a car accident?
- Do you have a problem with your car insurer?
Superannuation:
- How your super grows
- What happens when you take out super money early
- You might be insured for injury or loss of job
- Making sure your loved ones get your super when you pass away
Reg and Shane's superannuation Story
When Reg and Shane are both 30 years old they each have $10,000 in their super accounts. They both work, earning $65,000 per year. Reg asks his employer to pay an extra $100 per fortnight into his super account.
Shane doesn’t. They keep earning the same amount.
Now that they are 67 years old, Shane has over $381,000 in his super account but Reg has over $507,000 in his super account.
We worked this out using the MoneySmart calculator. Put in your amounts and see how you can grow your super.
Car Insurance and You
A Quick Guide to Car Insurance
There are three main types of car insurance:
- Compulsory third party (CTP) – this is the one you have to get to register a car. It covers personal injury for someone injured by your car. Everywhere except NSW it’s included in the rego.
- Comprehensive insurance –this one covers repairs and loss of your car and other people’s cars and property in an accident, even if it’s your fault. It can be expensive.
- Third party property damage insurance – This one covers damage to other people’s cars and property when it’s your fault – but doesn’t cover your own car. This one is cheaper than comprehensive insurance.
You can get more information on the MoneySmart website.
Hot tip: Don’t pay for someone else’s BMW! Avoid driving any car that doesn’t have Third Party Property Damage insurance.
Had a car accident?
Our tips are:
• Get advice as soon as you can – you may have options you’d never considered. Call us for advice.
• The motor vehicle accidents problem solver, fact sheets and sample letters can be really helpful.
• If you’ve had an accident and you weren’t insured, read our fact sheet for help.
Home or Contents Insurance and You
Why insure your home and/or contents?
You can insure your home and/or the contents of your home so they will be replaced if lost because of flood, fire, robbery or other events – depending on your insurance policy.
There’s some really useful information about all of that in the MoneySmart website.
A smart thing – in case you need to claim one day
Got insurance and a phone? Whatever it is that you have insured – get a video of it and save it on your phone. For example, if you have contents insurance – open all your drawers and cupboards and go around the house filming your stuff. That helps prove to your insurer what you’ve lost. Do it every year.
Got a problem with an insurance company?
If you’ve got an insurance company:
• chasing you for a debt;
• not paying your claim;
• investigating you;
or something else relating to home, contents, car, pet or travel insurance
• call us; and/or
• read the information on our Insurance Law page.
Superannuation and You
It’s your money – watch it grow
Did you know your employer has to pay money into your super fund – in addition to your wages? You can work out how much they need to pay on the MoneySmart website.
Your super is for your retirement. The sooner you put money into super the more you will have when you retire.
Don’t get your super out early
Getting your super out early can seem like a good idea – but usually it’s not. Here’s why:
- If you have debts you need to pay, there are almost always better options to deal with those debts. Before you apply to take out your super, get advice from a free Financial Counsellor at Mob Strong.
- Your money held is super is protected from debt collectors – even in bankruptcy (get advice as there are exceptions to this)
- Your super is there for your retirement.
Injured? Disabled? Lost your job?
You might be insured for this and not know
If you have super you might also have:
- Life cover – for your family if you pass away
- Insurance covering total and permanent disability – this pays you if you become seriously disabled and cannot work any more
- Income protection insurance – pays you an income for a set period if you can’t work because of temporary disability or illness.
If you’ve ever had super and you are injured or become disabled, find out if you have insurance through that super for this.
If you’ve lost a loved one, they may have had life insurance. You should get advice as soon as you can.
Find more information on the MoneySmart website.
Making sure your loved ones get your super when you pass away
When you pass away, your super fund will pay your super to your dependants. That means your husband or wife and children should get the money in your super fund and any life insurance through super.
It is important that you tell your super fund where want your super to go. You can do that by completing a form and sending it to your super fund:
- A binding nomination – that requires your super fund to pay particular people
- A non-binding nomination that guides the super fund but they are not required to pay the people you choose on that form.
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