Personal insurance advice: cover that actually pays.

Usually yes, if you hold it in your own name outside super. Whether it applies to you depends on how the policy is set up and your tax position, so we check it properly as part of the review rather than assuming.

Both have their place. Inside super is easier on the household budget, because premiums come out of your balance instead of your bank account. But the tax treatment when you claim is different, and some of the better features aren't available in there. Outside super gives you more choice and a cleaner claim. Plenty of people end up with a bit of each.

Stepped premiums cost less now and more every year as you age. Level premiums cost more up front but flatten the cost over the long run. Which one wins comes down to how long you plan to hold the cover and what your cash flow looks like. We run the numbers on both and show you.

A set of questions about your health, your job and your finances, and sometimes a medical or blood test. It's a bit of effort up front. That's the whole point — the insurer does its checking when you apply, not when you claim, which is when you can least afford an argument.

Not necessarily. Insurers view the same condition quite differently from one another. When an adviser handles the application, it can be put to the insurers most likely to accept it — often with a higher premium or a specific exclusion, rather than a flat no.

Two to six weeks for a straightforward application. Longer if medical records have to come from overseas or the work you do is unusual. We chase the insurer so you don't have to.