What is a Life Insurance Premium Waiver?

If you’re unable to work due to illness or injury or you are currently facing involuntary unemployment, keeping up with insurance payments can be a challenge.  That’s where a Premium Waiver helps — pausing your payments while keeping your cover active. This prevents issues with cancelling your cover and having to go through the whole application process again at a later date.

NobleOak offers different types of Premium Waivers depending on which insurance product you hold.

A Waiver of Premium while involuntarily unemployed is available through NobleOak’s Life Cover, Trauma cover and TPD cover. If the policyholder becomes involuntarily unemployed for longer than thirty consecutive days (other than as a direct result of any sickness or injury), NobleOak will waive the premium for up to 3 months in total while you’re involuntarily unemployed. There are some conditions that you will have to meet which are detailed in the Product Disclosure Statement. Many life insurers will offer a similar type benefit for their customers.

NobleOak’s Income Protection Insurance provides a different type of waiver. This is called a Waiver of Premium while on Claim. This means your premiums are waived while you’re receiving monthly benefit payments. So, if you can’t work for six months, you won’t need to pay premiums during that time. They’ll only resume once you’re back at work or your Benefit Period ends, whichever occurs first. This is explored in more detail below.

Waiver of Premium while on Claim defined

So, what is a Premium Waiver while on Claim exactly?

This is a feature which can be offered in an Income Protection product that lets you pause your insurance payments if you can’t work when you’re seriously ill or injured. It’s designed to keep you covered when life gets tough, so you can recover without the added stress of paying premiums.

You might see this benefit in Income Protection policies listed as a ‘Waiver of Premium benefit’ or ’Premium Waiver Rider’. While the names may vary, the purpose is the same – to help protect your cover when you need it most.

How does it work?

If you hold a NobleOak Income Protection product and become unable to work due to illness or injury, your policy will start to pay out benefits. That’s when the waiver automatically kicks in. Your regular premium payments will be suspended while your insurance coverage continues uninterrupted.

Here’s how income protection works with and without a Waiver of Premium while on Claim:

When does the Waiver of Premium while on Claim kick in?

The Waiver of Benefit while on Claim for your NobleOak Income Insurance cover starts as soon as you meet certain criteria:

• Waiting period: There’s usually a waiting period after you take out a policy. At NobleOak, you can generally choose from a period of 30, 60, 90 or 730 days before benefit payments and your premium waiver starts.
• Valid claim approval: To activate a Waiver of Premium while on Claim, you’ll need to show that you’re unable to work due to sickness or injury. This is assessed by a medical professional and outlined in your policy terms.
• Benefit payments begin: The Waiver generally activates when you start receiving benefits payments from your income protection policy. Once your benefit payments stop – either because you’ve returned to work or reached your maximum benefit period – your premium payments will resume as normal.

With NobleOak’s Income Protection Insurance, a Waiver of Premium while on Claim is included in the policy at no extra cost – so you’ll have one less financial burden when every bit of support counts.

What does income protection cover?

If you have an injury or illness and are unable to work, income protection cover can provide you with income support, up to 70% of your monthly income.  At NobleOak, Australian residents between the ages of 18 and 60 can apply for income protection (only 1-and 2-year Benefit Periods are available if you are over age 55 when you apply).

Income protection can be a key consideration in the following scenarios:

Primary or secondary income earners: If your household relies on your income, it’s important to keep some income coming in, if you get sick or injured.
Limited savings:  Without a big emergency fund, it can be hard to meet your everyday costs while you’re off work.
Self-employed: If you don’t get paid sick leave, being unable to work can hit your income hard.
Anyone worried about financial security: It’s reassuring to know your income won’t stop entirely, just because you can’t work for a while.

Award-winning income protection insurance

At NobleOak, we believe in giving Australians more certainty when it comes to protecting what matters. That’s why our award-winning Income Insurance includes a Waiver of Premium while on Claim benefit at no extra cost – so you can focus on your recovery, not your premiums.

Take the first step toward protecting your financial future by starting a quote today or using our insurance calculator to estimate how much coverage you might need.Any financial product advice is general in nature only and does not take into account your individual circumstances, objectives, financial situation, or needs. Before acting on it, please consider the appropriateness of the information, having regard to those factors. Any third party websites or tools referred to are subject to their own terms and conditions and NobleOak Life Limited makes no representation or warranty as to any information on those websites. Persons deciding whether to acquire or continue to hold life insurance issued by NobleOak Life Limited should consider the relevant Product Disclosure Statement and Target Market Determination for the product. NobleOak Life Limited ABN 85 087 648 708 AFSL 247302.