Income Protection Insurance FAQs

Income protection insurance is designed to safeguard the income of employees and professionals like you. If you’re unable to work due to sickness or injury, income protection benefits can replace a portion of your usual earnings so that you can continue leading the lifestyle you’re accustomed to, while covering essential expenses like the mortgage, education, groceries, and bills.

With Guardian Income Protection Insurance, you can get up to $15,000 per month, up to 70% of your income, to help with maintaining your lifestyle.

Some things to keep in mind when choosing an income protection insurance policy that feels right for you include:

• Monthly benefit amount – the amount you receive to cover your lost income if you’re unable to work due to sickness or injury. With Guardian Income Protection Insurance, you can cover up to 70% of your monthly pre-tax income, up to $15,000 per month.
• Benefit period – the duration you can receive your monthly payments, if you’re unable to work due to sickness or injury. With Guardian Income Protection Insurance, you can apply for a benefit period of 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, or 5 years.
• Waiting period – the length of time you must wait before your payments start. With Guardian Income Protection Insurance, you can apply for a waiting period of either 30 or 90 days.

Income protection insurance premiums purchased through a direct insurer (and not through a super fund) can be tax deductible, according to the Australian Tax Office (ATO). You could claim the cost of the premiums you’ve paid against any loss of income as a tax deduction, which can help reduce your taxable income. Keep in mind, if you receive a payment to replace your salary and wages under an income protection policy, you also need to include it in your tax return. Always seek professional advice when evaluating the tax implications of Guardian Income Protection Insurance. 

Income protection insurance is a type of insurance policy that pays benefits to policyholders who’re unable to work and earn a regular income due to sickness or injury. 

Guardian Income Protection Insurance can provide regular monthly payments to replace a portion of your income – up to 70% of your pre-tax income, up to a maximum of $15,000 per month. You can use this money to cover everyday living expenses and other financial obligations. You may also need to make modifications to your home to cater to your new circumstances, depending on the type of sickness or injury you’ve faced. Additionally, you could also be reimbursed for rehabilitation program costs or return-to-work expenses. 

Income protection insurance covers a portion of your income if you’re unable to work due to sickness or injury. To make an eligible claim, you must have a sickness or injury and be:

• unable to perform your usual duties of the occupation where you earn your main source of income; and 
• unable to earn your income and facing a loss of income; and
• unable to work for longer than your chosen waiting period; and 
• not working in your regular occupation or earning money from another source; and
• receiving ongoing care from a medical practitioner for the sickness or injury you’re claiming for.

Any income benefit payable will generally also be reduced by any other disability payments you are paid such as sick pay, work cover and any damages or compensation paid.

Income protection insurance doesn’t cover redundancy – it covers loss of income if you’re unable to work and earn an income for a period of time, due to a sickness or injury.

Income protection insurance could be worth considering if you earn wages or a salary, are a small business owner, or are self-employed, and rely on your earnings to cover your day-to-day expenses – such as utility bills, mortgage, groceries, school fees – and to continue the lifestyle of your choice. As a policyholder, you can receive monthly benefits if you’re unable to work due to sickness or injury.

Factors including the duties you perform at work, your age, gender, smoker status, and benefit amount can all contribute to the cost of your policy. Request a quote based on your circumstances or get the Guardian Insurance team to call you back to discuss your insurance needs.

You can cover up to 70% of your income, up to $15,000 per month with Guardian Income Protection Insurance. However, every person’s situation is different and the amount of income protection insurance you need will depend on factors you should consider such as how much sick leave you have, and how much income you’re earning monthly, how much of it you spend on expenses, such as mortgage or rent, groceries, phone, electricity, and water bills, as well as any other commitments you may have to your family or dependants. 

You may want to create a budget to determine your total expenditure against your income and any financial commitments you may have.

Your Guardian Income Protection Insurance policy will expire on the policy anniversary after your 65th birthday.

Income protection insurance is considered a financial service product, and therefore does not incur goods and services tax (GST).

Insurance policies have exclusions and limitations to what they can cover, and income protection insurance is no exception. For instance, you will not be able to make a claim if your injury or sickness is a result of an intentional self-inflicted activity, attempted suicide, criminal or illegal acts, engaging in war, riots or civil commotions, or a normal pregnancy, childbirth, or miscarriage. Always check the Product Disclosure Statement for full information regarding any exclusions applicable.

Yes, you may be able to change your level of cover at any time, subject to approval – decreasing the cover amount to suit your circumstances. Please note that if you want to increase your cover, you will have to reapply for another policy and go through the health and lifestyle questions again.

Guardian Income Protection Insurance only covers one policyholder, who must be an Australian resident aged 18–60 and earning an income, working at least 15 hours per week. It’s not possible to cover your partner on your policy, but if they qualify, they can apply for a separate income protection insurance policy to protect their income.

The duties you perform as part of your occupation can affect the premiums you have to pay. For a Guardian Income Protection Insurance policy, premiums are affected by a range of factors, including the duties you perform as part of your work, your age, gender, and smoking status.

The easiest way to make a claim is by calling our claims team on 1300 308 578 or emailing claims@guardianinsurance.com.au and we’ll provide you with any required forms or information needed to process your claim.

For more information about claiming, visit our claims page.

If you’re unable to work due to sickness or injury for a period of time longer than your waiting period, you should make a claim as soon as possible after the incident giving rise to the claim. 

Learn more on our claims page.

When you apply, there’re no forms or documents required. 

When lodging an income protection insurance claim, you’ll need to complete a claim form and provide proof of identity and proof of income.

You’ll find more information on our claims page.

A certified copy is a signed photocopy of an original document. The person signing it must see the original copy and the photocopy that they are certifying side by side to confirm that the copy matches the original document. The person signing can be a Justice of the Peace, accountant, solicitor, doctor, bank manager or police officer.

We value your time as much as you do, so we make every effort to process claims without unnecessary delay. To avoid any delays, please ensure you provide all the required documentation when submitting a claim. 

Once we receive all the documentation we have asked for, your claim will be submitted to the insurer, Hannover, for their assessment. We will contact you as soon as there is an update or within 10 business days of having received your completed forms, and every 10 business days, thereafter, to inform you about the progress of your claim.

If your claim is approved, payment will be made promptly. Sometimes, the insurer’s assessment leads to a need for additional information, which we’ll contact you to provide, or we may reach out to your medical practitioner directly. Once the new information is taken into consideration, we’ll promptly inform you of the outcome.

You’ll be asked to provide updates each month on your sickness or injury and its impact on your working status, so the Insurer can assess whether you still qualify for the income benefit. We’ll send you the progress claim form that you and your treating doctor must complete and return to us to make the assessment.

Once your claim has been processed, you’ll receive a monthly payment, based on your cover. 

You can start to accrue payments once you’ve been unable to work for longer than your selected waiting period – either 30 or 90 days. 

Your accrued payments will be paid to you at the end of each month for up to 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, or 5 years – depending on the benefit period specified in your policy.

Your monthly benefit amount will be deposited directly into the bank account you specify on your claim form.

When lodging an income protection insurance claim, you may be asked to provide documents, such as your income tax return or payslips, in order for us to calculate your pre-disability income. 

Pre-disability income refers to your average monthly earnings during the 12 months just before your sickness or injury. However, if your income declined by 15% or more in the 12 months leading up to your sickness or injury, compared to the 12 months prior, we’ll consider your average income over the 24 preceding months. The income benefit you’ll receive is calculated as the lesser of either the insured monthly amount or up to 70% of your pre-disability income.

Your waiting period will begin once your claim is accepted. Based on what you had chosen, when applying – the waiting period will be 30 or 90 days. Once that period is completed, your benefit period will begin, and your monthly income benefit payments will start being deposited into your specified bank account at the end of each month until your benefit period ends or you’re able to return to work, whichever occurs first.

Once you receive the benefit, it’s entirely up to you how you spend it – whether it’s to make mortgage or credit card repayments or manage your day-to-day expenses. You can also use it to pay for medical or rehabilitation expenses, or to cover the cost of assisting you to return to work.