If a cancer diagnosis has left you unable to work, you may be able to make a permanent disability TPD claim for lump-sum insurance within your Super fund. Many people don’t realize that TPD insurance doesn’t only apply to serious accidents and injuries – having a terminal illness or a type of cancer that affects you in a way that you can no longer work is usually also covered in your income protection insurance.
How TPD Claims Work
If you suffer an injury or illness, making a total and permanent disability claim will entitle you to receive a lump sum of money to cover your costs of living. You may also be able to claim the full account balance of your superannuation fund early because of the nature of your cancer.
To successfully claim for TPD benefits, you need to show that you won’t be able to work in your current or previous job, nor work in a field that is suited to your skills, training and education, for the rest of your life. This doesn’t mean you have to be unfit for any job – if you’re trained and skilled for manual labor, for instance, it doesn’t matter if your doctor says you’re still capable of working in an office. You may even be able to submit a TPD claim if you are able to return to work part-time.
Additionally, you may need to provide proof of your terminal illness or cancer through a doctor’s report and other medical documents. These will support your claim and give you a better chance of a successful outcome.
How To Make A Claim
To submit a super claim for cancer or a similar medical condition, it’s best to get started as early as possible. As soon as you are given early release from work, or you hand in your notice, contact your insurance provider with your medical reports and anything else required by the insurer.
Sending in the right information first-time around will help the claims process to run as smoothly as possible, and you’re likely to be offered life insurance benefits relatively quickly. But making a claim isn’t always straightforward, especially if you’ve never bothered to read the fine print of your insurance policy before.
What To Do If Your Claim Is Rejected?
It usually takes around 6-12 months for a claim to be processed, so it can feel like a stab in the back when that claim is rejected. Luckily, if your claim is rejected, it doesn’t mean there’s nothing more you can do.
It’s worth re-checking insurance policies and the terms and conditions of your superannuation fund to see in which scenarios you’re eligible to receive an insurance benefit. If you feel your policy is misleading or poorly-worded, speak to an expert, like the team at Life Matters Claims, who can help to translate the policy into something that makes sense to you.
Oftentimes, if your claim has been rejected, it’s simply because you’re missing some important information that’s preventing you from being entitled to income protection. Having an expert to guide you through the process should ease some of the anxiety associated with making a claim and help you to focus solely on battling your fight with cancer.